Despite being a relatively new team in the NFL, the Carolina Panthers have certainly had their fair share of success. While the team has yet to bring home a title, the NFL's Carolina franchise has been to two Super Bowls and has made the playoffs eight times.
And while the Panthers haven't played postseason football in the last two seasons, there have been plenty of top-notch teams throughout the franchise's 26-year history.
3. 1996
It's pretty remarkable that an expansion team like the Panthers can become contenders so quickly. In only their second-ever season, Carolina would go an impressive 12-4 after winning seven games the season before.
The '96 Panthers were led by a ferocious defense that allowed only 13.6 points per game — good for the second-best mark in the entire NFL. The team's veteran linebacker trio of Kevin Greene, Lamar Lathon, and Sam Mills was arguably the best in the league.
On offense, the Panthers had a combination of Kerry Collins and Steve Beuerlein — neither were elite but they got the job done. Running back Anthony Johnson had the only 1,000-yard rushing season of his career in 1996 when he gained 1,120 yards and six touchdowns and the duo of Mark Carrier at receiver and Wesley Walls at tight end were enough to carry the passing attack.
The team would eventually fall to the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship game but considering the team was only in its second season, the '96 Panthers are without a doubt one of the best teams in franchise history.
2. 2003
Going into the 2003 season, the Panthers hadn't made the playoffs in any of the last six seasons. However, Carolina improved from 1-15 in 2001 to 7-9 in 2002 — the first year under new head coach John Fox. As a result, there was some hope for the future.
Nonetheless, not many expected the Panthers to reach the Super Bowl in 2003. The team would go 11-5 and flew through the first three rounds of the postseason before narrowly falling to the New England Patriots on a last-second field goal by Adam Vinatieri.
Still, the '03 Panthers team was filled with stars at a multitude of positions. Like the 1996 team, the Panthers didn't necessarily get great play at the quarterback position but they made up for that with a fantastic rushing attack.
In his first season in Carolina, Stephen Davis would go for a career-high 1,444 yards and eight touchdowns. The Panthers also had a deadly WR tandem of Mushin Muhammad (837 yards and three touchdowns) and rising star Steve Smith who put up 1,110 yards and seven TDs)
Mike Rucker, Kris Jenkins, and a young Julius Peppers led the Carolina defense in the trenches and other players like Will Witherspoon and Mike Minter made major impacts on a defense that was in the top-10 of points allowed per game.
1. 2015
Another team that came just short of bringing a Super Bowl to Carolina, the 2015 Panthers will go down as one of the best teams to never win it all.
The Panthers would set the league on fire that season starting the year a perfect 14-0 before finishing the regular season 15-1. The leader of this team was obviously former No. 1 pick Cam Newton who, after playing well in his first four seasons, took his game to an MVP level.
The former Heisman Trophy Winner would run away with the MVP that season getting 48 of the 50 votes. Newton would complete 59.8 percent of his passes for 3,837 yards, 35 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. However, Newton was also a major threat on the ground compiling an additional 636 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Other than Newton, veteran running back Jonathan Stewart would nearly eclipse 1,000 yards with 989 yards and six touchdowns.
Even with missing 2014 first-round pick Kelvin Benjamin, Newton found a new favorite target in Greg Olsen (1,104 yards and seven touchdowns) and made journeyman wideout Ted Ginn look like a star with 739 yards and 10 touchdowns.
And while Newton carried the Panthers to the top-ranked offense in the NFL, the Carolina defense that year was nothing to scoff at.
The Panthers ranked sixth in the league in points allowed, fourth in rushing defense and first in turnovers.
All-Pro linebackers Luke Kuechley and Thomas Davis and third-year defensive tackle Kawaan Short all dominated in the front seven while cornerback Josh Norman was one of the league's top breakout stars in 2015.
The 2015 Panthers could punish you on both sides of the ball and after demolishing the Arizona Cardinals 49-15 in the NFC Championship, the team looked poised to bring home the title.
Unfortunately, Newton and the vaunted Panthers offense were shut down by an elite Denver Broncos defense in the Super Bowl and the team has failed to reach such success since then.
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