The Panthers enter the playoffs this season as the fifth seed, only their second time in franchise history with a Wild Card playoff berth. The previous time they entered the playoffs as a Wild Card in 2005, they beat the NY Giants and Chicago Bears on the road to advance to the NFC Championship game; they may be facing their toughest task of the playoffs immediately in a New Orleans Saints team that has already beaten Carolina twice, both times by double digit margins. As we take begin to examine what the Panthers need to do in the Superdome to advance to the next round of the playoffs, we’ll start with an analytical look. The numbers from the regular season of each offense:
| Panthers | Statistic | Saints |
|---|---|---|
| 323.7 | Yards/Game | 391.2 |
| 5.05 | Yards/Play | 6.26 |
| 131.4 | Rushing Yards/Game | 129.4 |
| 4.29 | Rushing Yards/Play | 4.66 |
| 192.3 | Passing Yards/Game | 261.8 |
| 6.14 | Passing Yards/Play | 7.82 |
| 3.19% | Interception Rate | 1.49% |
| 6.99% | Sacks/Pass Attempt | 3.73% |
| 20 | First Downs/Game | 20.8 |
| 8 | Punt Return Average | 6.4 |
| 22.4 | Kickoff Return Average | 22.9 |
| 96.67% | Field Goal Percentage | 86.11% |
| 41.89% | Third Down Percentage | 37.63% |
| 45.45% | Fourth Down Percentage | 80.00% |
| 53.85% | Red Zone Percentage | 58.18% |
| 70.37% | Goal To Go Percentage | 73.33% |
| 32:17 | Average Time Of Possession | 31:04 |
| 22.7 | Points/Game | 28 |
Now that you’re sufficiently depressed, here are the defensive numbers:
| Panthers | Statistic | Saints |
|---|---|---|
| 317.1 | Yards/Game | 336.5 |
| 5.32 | Yards/Play | 5.37 |
| 88.1 | Rushing Yards/Game | 111.7 |
| 3.99 | Rushing Yards/Play | 4.4 |
| 229.1 | Passing Yards/Game | 224.8 |
| 6.66 | Passing Yards/Play | 6.49 |
| 1.82% | Interception Rate | 3.61% |
| 9.09% | Sacks/Pass Attempt | 7.58% |
| 17.6 | First Downs/Game | 19.3 |
| 5.9 | Punt Return Average | 10.4 |
| 21.2 | Kickoff Return Average | 24.6 |
| 37.86% | Third Down Percentage | 41.04% |
| 35.00% | Fourth Down Percentage | 33.33% |
| 47.73% | Red Zone Percentage | 52.08% |
| 57.89% | Goal To Go Percentage | 69.57% |
| 20.4 | Points/Game | 20.4 |
Some Fun Facts….
- Graham Gano hit his only field goal attempt from 42 yards out at Atlanta and finished the season with a league-best field goal percentage of 96.7, going 29-of-30 on field goals this season. He also broke Joe Nedney’s franchise record of 92.9%.
- Cam Newton rushed for a team-high 59 yards against the Falcons, finishing the season with a career-high 754 rushing yards, the eighth-best rushing season by a quarterback in NFL history. He bested his previous high of 741 rushing yards set in 2012 and has the most rushing yards of any quarterback after their first seven seasons (4,320).
- The Panthers averaged 32:17 minutes of possession per game this season, good for fourth best in the NFL. That mark broke the franchise record of 31:54 which was set in 2013.
- Over the final seven games of the season, the Panthers defense led the NFL with a red zone touchdown percentage of 32.0. Over that stretch, Carolina limited teams to just eight touchdowns on 25 red zone trips.
- Sunday marks the 21st time that division rivals have met in the playoffs after one of them swept the regular season series. In the previous 20 meetings, 13 teams improved to 3-0 while seven teams won after being swept in the regular season.
- The Panthers are 12-11 in New Orleans in their franchise history; Cam Newton is 3-4 in his career at New Orleans, but has thrown 14 touchdowns against five interceptions.
- The Panthers are the most experienced team in the NFC playoffs. Carolina’s 34 players with postseason experience have totaled 187 games played both in Carolina and elsewhere.
- The Panthers are the only NFL franchise to advance to the divisional round in every year that they’ve been to the playoffs.
- The Panthers won the toss 11 times this year and deferred every time. They were 9-2 when receiving the second-half kickoff, scoring the most points in the NFL (38) on drives to begin the third quarter.
- Mario Addison recorded at least a half-sack in nine of the last ten games of the regular season.
Via Carolina Panthers Game Release
Josh Klein is Editor-In-Chief of The Riot Report. His favorite Panther of all time is Chad Cota and he once AIM chatted with Kevin Greene. Follow Josh on Twitter @joshkleinrules.