2014 Carolina Panthers season | |
---|---|
Owner | Jerry Richardson |
General manager | Dave Gettleman |
Head coach | Ron Rivera |
Home field | Bank of America Stadium |
Results | |
Record | 7–8–1 |
Division place | 1st NFC South |
Playoff finish | Won Wild Card Playoffs (vs. Cardinals) 27–16 Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Seahawks) 17–31 |
Pro Bowlers | TE Greg Olsen LB Luke Kuechly |
AP All-Pros | LB Luke Kuechly (1st team) |
Uniform | |
The 2014 season was the Carolina Panthers' 20th in the National Football League (NFL) and their fourth under head coach Ron Rivera.
The Panthers captured their second straight NFC South division title and qualified for the postseason for the first time in back-to-back years despite failing to improve on a 12–4 record and finishing with a losing record of 7–8–1. Additionally, they became the first team in NFC South history to have back-to-back division titles and also became the second team to win a division title with a sub-.500 record after the 2010 Seattle Seahawks, and would be followed by the 2020 Washington Football Team, a team that Rivera also coached, and the 2022 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Panthers defeated the Arizona Cardinals in the Wild Card round, but lost to the Seattle Seahawks in the Divisional round.
The Panthers' four-game winning streak to close out the regular season, combined with a 14–0 start the following season, would achieve a tie with the 2003–2004 New England Patriots for the third longest regular season winning streak in NFL history, at 18.
This was the first season since 2000 that Steve Smith Sr. was not on the opening-day roster, as he signed with the Baltimore Ravens.