5 biggest turkeys in Carolina Panthers franchise history
By Dean Jones
The Super Bowl defeat
This was it.
The Carolina Panthers were going to win their first Super Bowl.
After a memorable campaign that saw the Panthers go 15-1 and Cam Newton secure NFL MVP honors, they were favored by 5.5-points to topple Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos to finally get their hands on the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
But Carolina’s sensational campaign came crashing to a halt.
The big moment proved too big for them, eventually losing Super Bowl 50 by a score of 24-10. This was a stunning capitulation from a team that set the league alight both during the regular season and the playoffs, with the demoralizing loss taking a long time to get over.
Some players probably still harbor real regret they couldn’t get over the line.
Newton tried to get something going but was unable to come up with the magic that propelled him to the league’s best player that very same season. He completed just 18 of 41 passes for 265 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception, with the signal-caller under constant duress throughout the contest.
Manning wasn’t exactly stellar himself, recording just 141 passing yards from 13 completed passes with no touchdowns. But the old saying that defense wins championships definitely applied in this one.