Panthers

The Panthers head into another NFL season out of Charlotte, having lost two Super Bowls — to the New England Patriots after the 2003 campaign and to the Denver Broncos after 2015. A seventh NFC South title, added in 2025, keeps the division within reach.

The franchise exists because Jerry Richardson, once a wide receiver for the Baltimore Colts, won an NFL bid that owners approved in October 1993. He ran the club until 2018, when David Tepper bought it for $2.275 billion.

Two seasons bracket what the Panthers have been capable of at either extreme: a 1-15 collapse in 2001, then a 15-1 run in 2015 under Ron Rivera that carried Cam Newton to the NFL MVP award and the team to Super Bowl 50. Dave Canales took over in 2024, inheriting a roster still shaped by the departures of the players who defined those peaks — Luke Kuechly patrolling the middle of the defense, Steve Smith Sr. beating cornerbacks on the outside. Julius Peppers, whose pass rush terrorised opposing tackles for over a decade, went into the Hall of Fame in 2024.

The NFC South rivalry with the Atlanta Falcons runs along Interstate 85, and it sits alongside the Panthers' other divisional fights with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New Orleans Saints as the matches that carry the most weight in a season that otherwise turns on whether Canales can get more out of this roster than the division title alone.