The
2022 season was the
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...
' 28th in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL) and their third and final season under
head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...
Matt Rhule
Matthew Kenneth Rhule (born January 31, 1975) is an American football coach and former player, who is the head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He was previously the head coach at Temple University, Baylor University, and for the Carolina Pant ...
. They attempted to improve on their
5–12 record from last season and return to the
playoffs
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
for the first time since the
2017 season.
After a 1–4 start from the team, the Panthers fired head coach
Matt Rhule
Matthew Kenneth Rhule (born January 31, 1975) is an American football coach and former player, who is the head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He was previously the head coach at Temple University, Baylor University, and for the Carolina Pant ...
, along with defensive coordinator
Phil Snow
Phillip Snow (born December 22, 1955) is an American football coach who was last the defensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League.
Early years
Born in Woodland and raised in Winters, both in northern California ...
. Rhule was replaced with defensive passing game coordinator
Steve Wilks, who will serve as the interim
head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...
for the remainder of the
season
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
. After a Week 16 win against the
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
, they improved on their 5 win total from the previous 3 years. However, they were eliminated from playoff contention for the fifth straight year when they lost to the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...
the following week.
Offseason
Signings
Draft
Draft trades
Trades
Staff
Final roster
Preseason
Regular season
Schedule
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1: vs. Cleveland Browns
In the Panthers' home opener against the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
, they came close to winning, but the Browns were able to hold them off. Cleveland defeated Carolina 26–24, meaning the Panthers started off the season 0–1.
Week 2: at New York Giants
This was head coach
Matt Rhule
Matthew Kenneth Rhule (born January 31, 1975) is an American football coach and former player, who is the head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He was previously the head coach at Temple University, Baylor University, and for the Carolina Pant ...
's first return to MetLife Stadium in 10 years, as he had previously served as the Giants' asst. offensive line coach under then-head coach
Tom Coughlin
Thomas Richard Coughlin ( ; born August 31, 1946) is a former American football coach and executive. He was the head coach for the New York Giants from 2004 to 2015. He led the Giants to victory in Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLVI, both time ...
in 2012, a season after the Giants won their 4th Super Bowl title. Things started poorly for the Panthers when, during kick-off,
Chuba Hubbard fumbled the ball, and it was recovered by the
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
. New York ended up scoring a field goal on the ensuing drive. When Carolina got the ball back, they would fumble again and the Giants scored another field goal. In the second quarter,
Eddy Piñeiro
Eddy Piñeiro Jr. (born September 13, 1995) is an American football placekicker for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida, and signed with the Oakland Raiders as an undrafted free agent ...
scores two field goals for the Panthers, tying the game.
Baker Mayfield
Baker Reagan Mayfield (born April 14, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). Following a stint with Texas Tech, Mayfield played college football at Oklahoma, where he won the Hei ...
makes a complete pass to
D. J. Moore in the third for a touchdown. The Giants answered back with a
Daniel Bellinger
Daniel George Bellinger (born September 22, 2000) is an American football tight end for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at San Diego State.
Early years
Bellinger grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada ...
touch down, tying the game at 13-13 going into the 4th quarter. The Panthers only scored three points in the fourth, while New York scored 6, giving the Giants a 19-16 win, dropping the Panthers to an 0–2 record.
Week 3: vs. New Orleans Saints
The game started off well for Carolina in the first quarter when New Orleans fumbled the ball.
Marquis Haynes
Marquis Jacori Haynes Sr. (born December 16, 1993) is an American football defensive end with the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ole Miss.
Early years
Haynes attended University Christ ...
recovered it and scored a fumble recovery touchdown for the Panthers. Carolina led by thirteen points at the half after
Eddy Piñeiro
Eddy Piñeiro Jr. (born September 13, 1995) is an American football placekicker for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida, and signed with the Oakland Raiders as an undrafted free agent ...
kicked two field goals in the second quarter. Early in the fourth,
Mark Ingram scores a touchdown for the Saints, giving them their first points of the game.
Baker Mayfield
Baker Reagan Mayfield (born April 14, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). Following a stint with Texas Tech, Mayfield played college football at Oklahoma, where he won the Hei ...
completes a 67-yard pass to
Laviska Shenault
Laviska Terrell Shenault Jr. (born October 5, 1998) is an American football wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Colorado.
Early years
Shenault attended DeSoto High Schoo ...
for a touchdown. They tried for a two-point conversion, but it failed. With 8:19 to go into the game, Piñeiro kicked another field goal for Carolina. With 2:22 remaining,
Marquez Callaway
Marquez Antonio Callaway (born March 27, 1998) is an American football wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Tennessee.
Early years
Callaway attended and played high schoo ...
scores a touchdown for the Saints, though it wasn't enough. Carolina defeated New Orleans 22–14, snapping a 9 game losing streak and improving to 1–2.
Week 4: vs. Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals end up being too much for the Panthers and defeat them 26–16. Carolina falls to 1–3.
Week 5: vs. San Francisco 49ers
The Panthers lose to San Francisco 15–37 and dropped to 1–4 on the year. This was head coach
Matt Rhule
Matthew Kenneth Rhule (born January 31, 1975) is an American football coach and former player, who is the head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He was previously the head coach at Temple University, Baylor University, and for the Carolina Pant ...
's and
defensive coordinator
A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...
Phil Snow
Phillip Snow (born December 22, 1955) is an American football coach who was last the defensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League.
Early years
Born in Woodland and raised in Winters, both in northern California ...
's last game with the Panthers, as both were fired in the days following the loss with Steve Wilks promoted to interim head coach. In addition, Baker Mayfield, who had another disappointing performance, was benched in favor of
P.J. Walker.
Week 6: at Los Angeles Rams
Carolina started the game off with a field goal in the first. Both the Panthers and the Rams scored touchdowns in the second, leaving them up 10-7 into the half. The Panthers went scoreless in the second half, while Los Angeles took control and scored 17. The Rams defeated Carolina 24–10. For the first time since 2016, the Panthers were 1–5.
This was also the last game
Christian McCaffrey
Christian Jackson McCaffrey (born June 7, 1996) is an American football running back for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Stanford and was drafted by the Carolina Panthers eighth overa ...
would play in as a player of the Panthers, as he was traded to the
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
on October 20, 2022.
Week 7: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Carolina and Tampa Bay were both scoreless in the first quarter. With 35 seconds to go in the second,
P. J. Walker
Phillip "P. J." Walker (born February 26, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Temple, and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Indian ...
made a 20-yard pass to
D. J. Moore for a Panthers touchdown, putting Carolina up by 7 at the half.
Chuba Hubbard scored a touchdown in the third, as
Ryan Succop
Ryan Barrow Succop ( "suck-up"; born September 19, 1986) is an American football placekicker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). Succop played college football at South Carolina and was the 2009 Mr. Irrelevant by ...
made a field goal for the Bucs in the fourth. Walker threw it to
Tommy Tremble for a game sealing touchdown. The Panthers won 21–3 and improved to 2–5.
Week 8: at Atlanta Falcons
In a close game, the Falcons defeated Carolina 37–34 in overtime. The Panthers dropped to 2–6.
Week 9: at Cincinnati Bengals
In the first half of this blowout, Carolina was scoreless, in part due to poor play from Walker, who posted a
0.0 passer rating, while the Cincinnati Bengals scored 5 touchdowns, four of them from Bengals running back
Joe Mixon. Walker was removed from the game in favor of Mayfield, as both teams scored 7 in the third quarter. The Panthers went on to score 14 in the fourth, and even though Cincinnati went scoreless, the Bengals kept their comfortable lead and won 42–21. Carolina fell to 2–7.
Week 10: vs. Atlanta Falcons
Carolina sought revenge against Atlanta in this
Thursday Night Football
''Thursday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''TNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that broadcast primarily on Thursday nights. Most of the games kick off at 8:15 Eastern Time (8:20 prior to 20 ...
game after losing in a heartbreaker 11 days prior. The Panthers got their chance, winning 25–15 and improving to 3–7.
Week 11: at Baltimore Ravens
Baker returned from the bench in a 13–3 low scoring affair that saw Carolina fall to 3–8. This was also the last game he'd play for the Panthers, as
Sam Darnold
Samuel Richard Darnold (born June 5, 1997) is an American football quarterback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at USC, where he became the first freshman to win the Archie Griffin Awar ...
was healthy enough to return, and Mayfield would soon be released by the Panthers, signing with the Rams.
Week 12: vs. Denver Broncos
Darnold's first start in the season saw the Panthers beat the Broncos for the first time since the
2008 season in a 23-10 score. The Panthers improved to 4-8.
Week 14: at Seattle Seahawks
Carolina defeated Seattle for the first time since 2015, winning 30–24. The Panthers improved to 5–8, and with a Buccaneers loss, also allowed them control of their own destiny, meaning they were guaranteed a spot in the playoffs if they could win out.
Week 15: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Mitchell Trubisky
Mitchell David Trubisky (born August 20, 1994) is an American football quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at North Carolina and was drafted second overall by the Chicago ...
and the Pittsburgh Steelers were too much for Carolina, defeating them 24–16. The Panthers fell to 5–9, yet still maintained control of their destiny.
Week 16: vs. Detroit Lions
On Christmas Eve, the Panthers ran all over the Detroit Lions, beating them 37–23, as well as setting new franchise records in rushing yards in a game and total yards in a game. Carolina improved to 6–9, improving on their 5 win totals from the previous three seasons.
Week 17: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
In a must win game, the Panthers visited the Buccaneers. Despite holding a 14-0 lead at one point, the Buccaneers were able to recover and win 30–24. Carolina fell to 6–10, and were officially eliminated from playoff contention.
Week 18: at New Orleans Saints
The Panthers are able to hold the Saints to a touchdown and win 10–7. They finished the season 7–10, capping off the first season since
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
the Panthers won more than 5 games.
Standings
Division
Conference
References
External links
*
{{2022 NFL season by team
Carolina
Carolina Panthers seasons
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...