NFL franchise all-time power rankings: Which organization comes out on top?

27. Carolina Panthers

Carolina is a newer franchise, joining the league in 1995. Like the Jaguars before them, they immediately made an impact. The Panthers went to the NFC Championship Game in the second season of its existence. They signed Steve Beuerlein that offseason, and he found the chance he was looking for. It was a great start for Beuerlein and the Panthers. 

Things went up and down for a while until John Fox took over as head coach in 2002. In his second year at the helm, he led Jake Delhomme and a really good defense to the Super Bowl in 2004. Two years later, they went to the NFC Championship before losing to the Seahawks. They still were successful for most of the early 2000s, that is until 2010 when they bottomed out with just two wins. That helped them bring their most transcendent player in team history.

The Panthers drafted Cam Newton in the 2011 NFL Draft. He immediately turned this franchise around. He was the Offensive Rookie of the Year, and just one year later, Luke Kuechly won Defensive Rookie of the Year. These two built the Panthers into a constant contender. Ron Rivera as head coach made a triumvirate of success. It didn’t last long, as the Panthers went to the Super Bowl in 2015 but didn’t win another playoff game since that loss. Now, the Panthers are one of the worst teams in the league with the biggest QB question in Bryce Young.

The Panthers had stars upon stars across their history. Beyond Newton, Kuechly, Beuerlein, and Delhomme, they had Steve Smith Sr., Muhsin Muhammad, Christian McCaffrey, and Julius Peppers. They were even the last team to employ Reggie White. The Panthers have been pretty successful, but they never got over the hump.