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NFL team season
The 2002 season was the Carolina Panthers ' eighth in the National Football League and their first under head coach John Fox . They tried to improve upon their 1–15 record in 2001 , and make it to the playoffs for the second time in franchise history.
After moving from the NFC West to the more geographically accurate NFC South, they improved by six games to finish 7–9, but were still five games behind the division champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and failed to make the playoffs. Their Week 12, 41–0 loss against the Atlanta Falcons was the Panthers' last shutout for 21 years .
Offseason
NFL Draft
The 2002 NFL draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 15 and April 16, 2002. The Panthers selected nine players in seven rounds. Despite having the worst record in the league the previous season, the Panthers picked 2nd overall due to the Houston Texans picking first overall in their inaugural draft, as is tradition (under NFL rules) with expansion teams.
NFL Draft
Personnel
Staff
2002 Carolina Panthers staff
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Assistant head coach/special teams – Scott O'Brien
Assistant special teams coordinator/assistant strength and conditioning – Darrin Simmons
Strength and conditioning
[ 1]
Roster
Regular season
Schedule
Under the NFL’s new scheduling formula put in place for this season, the Panthers would play two games each season against their NFC South division rivals. A schedule rotation would see them play the NFC North in full in 2002 and every three seasons subsequently, and the AFC North in 2002 and every four seasons subsequently. As the Panthers had the worst record in the NFL in 2001, they would also play the Arizona Cardinals , who had the worst 2001 record amongst teams in the reconstituted NFC West , and the Dallas Cowboys , who had the worst 2001 record amongst teams in the NFC East .
Week
Date
Opponent
Result
Record
Venue
Attendance
1
September 8
Baltimore Ravens
W 10–7
1–0
Ericsson Stadium
70,386
2
September 15
Detroit Lions
W 31–7
2–0
Ericsson Stadium
71,951
3
September 22
at Minnesota Vikings
W 21–14
3–0
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
63,945
4
September 29
at Green Bay Packers
L 14–17
3–1
Lambeau Field
63,329
5
October 6
Arizona Cardinals
L 13–16
3–2
Ericsson Stadium
72,286
6
October 13
at Dallas Cowboys
L 13–14
3–3
Texas Stadium
61,773
7
October 20
at Atlanta Falcons
L 0–30
3–4
Georgia Dome
68,056
8
October 27
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
L 9–12
3–5
Ericsson Stadium
72,892
9
Bye
10
November 10
New Orleans Saints
L 24–34
3–6
Ericsson Stadium
72,566
11
November 17
at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
L 10–23
3–7
Raymond James Stadium
65,527
12
November 24
Atlanta Falcons
L 0–41
3–8
Ericsson Stadium
72,533
13
December 1
at Cleveland Browns
W 13–6
4–8
Cleveland Browns Stadium
72,718
14
December 8
Cincinnati Bengals
W 52–31
5–8
Ericsson Stadium
66,799
15
December 15
at Pittsburgh Steelers
L 14–30
5–9
Heinz Field
58,586
16
December 22
Chicago Bears
W 24–14
6–9
Ericsson Stadium
72,602
17
December 29
at New Orleans Saints
W 10–6
7–9
Louisiana Superdome
66,946
Note : Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 2: vs. Detroit Lions
Week 2: Detroit Lions at Carolina Panthers
Quarter
1
2
3 4 Total
Lions
0
0
7 0 7
Panthers
0
10
14 7 31
at Ericsson Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina
Game information
First quarter
Second quarter
CAR – John Kasay 23-yard field goal, 3:27. Panthers 3–0. Drive: 5 plays, 19 yards, 2:09.
CAR – Muhsin Muhammad 22-yard pass from Rodney Peete (John Kasay kick), 0:16. Panthers 10–0. Drive: 5 plays, 69 yards, 0:46.
Third quarter
DET – Mike McMahon 11-yard run (Jason Hanson kick), 8:21. Panthers 10–7. Drive: 5 plays, 76 yards, 3:10.
CAR – Lamar Smith 3-yard run (John Kasay kick), 6:44. Panthers 17–7. Drive: 4 plays, 77 yards, 1:37.
CAR – Mike Minter 40-yard interception return (John Kasay kick), 5:49. Panthers 24–7 .
Fourth quarter
CAR – Lamar Smith 1-yard run (John Kasay kick), 9:43. Panthers 31–7. Drive: 10 plays, 71 yards, 5:44.
Top passers
DET – Mike McMahon – 9/23, 95 yards, INT
CAR – Rodney Peete – 21/32, 310 yards, TD
Top rushers
DET – James Stewart – 12 rushes, 53 yards
CAR – Lamar Smith – 20 rushes, 60 yards, 2 TD
Top receivers
DET – Scotty Anderson – 2 receptions, 31 yards
CAR – Muhsin Muhammad – 8 receptions, 107 yards, TD
Week 3: at Minnesota Vikings
Game information
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
CAR – Steve Smith Sr. 14-yard pass from Rodney Peete (Jon Hilbert kick), 5:14. Tied 7–7. Drive: 2 plays, 28 yards, 0:47.
Fourth quarter
CAR – Lamar Smith 12-yard run (Jon Hilbert kick), 13:28. Panthers 14–7. Drive: 6 plays, 80 yards, 3:38.
CAR – Lamar Smith 24-yard run (Jon Hilbert kick), 7:54. Panthers 21–7. Drive: 8 plays, 48 yards, 4:42.
MIN – Chris Walsh 4-yard pass from Daunte Culpepper (Gary Anderson kick), 3:29. Panthers 21–14. Drive: 9 plays, 89 yards, 4:25.
Top passers
CAR – Rodney Peete – 20/30, 221 yards, TD, 2 INT
MIN – Daunte Culpepper – 19/30, 191 yards, TD, 4 INT
Top rushers
CAR – Lamar Smith – 30 rushes, 154 yards, 2 TD
MIN – Daunte Culpepper – 4 rushes, 32 yards
Top receivers
CAR – Steve Smith Sr. – 5 receptions, 81 yards, TD
MIN – Moe Williams – 4 receptions, 66 yards
Week 4: at Green Bay Packers
Game information
First quarter
GB – Ryan Longwell 30-yard field goal, 8:52. Packers 3–0. Drive: 11 plays, 73 yards, 5:07.
CAR – Lamar Smith 3-yard run (Shayne Graham kick), 0:23. Panthers 7–3. Drive: 8 plays, 83 yards, 4:50.
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
CAR – Lamar Smith 2-yard run (Shayne Graham kick), 12:55. Panthers 14–10. Drive: 5 plays, 53 yards, 2:51.
GB – Donald Driver 22-yard pass from Brett Favre (Ryan Longwell kick), 4:10. Packers 17–14. Drive: 4 plays, 65 yards, 2:19.
Top passers
CAR – Rodney Peete – 10/24, 202 yards
GB – Brett Favre – 18/32, 200 yards, TD, INT
Top rushers
CAR – Lamar Smith – 22 rushes, 66 yards, 2 TD
GB – Ahman Green – 17 rushes, 73 yards
Top receivers
CAR – Steve Smith Sr. – 5 receptions, 116 yards
GB – Donald Driver – 5 receptions, 97 yards, 2 TD
Week 16: vs. Chicago Bears
Week 16: Chicago Bears at Carolina Panthers
Quarter
1
2
3 4 Total
Bears
7
0
0 7 14
Panthers
0
21
0 3 24
at Ericsson Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina
Game information
First quarter
Second quarter
CAR – Dee Brown 2-yard run (Shayne Graham kick), 12:12. Tied 7–7. Drive: 6 plays, 85 yards, 2:33.
CAR – Dee Brown 1-yard run (Shayne Graham kick), 8:38. Panthers 14–7. Drive: 3 plays, 11 yards, 0:51.
CAR – Muhsin Muhammad 3-yard pass from Rodney Peete (Shayne Graham kick), 3:52. Panthers 21–7. Drive: 4 plays, 41 yards, 1:54.
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
CHI – Dez White 5-yard pass from Henry Burris (Paul Edinger kick), 11:48. Panthers 21–14. Drive: 3 plays, 8 yards, 1:32.
CAR – Shayne Graham 25-yard field goal, 5:16. Panthers 24–14. Drive: 4 plays, -1 yard, 2:08.
Top passers
CHI – Chris Chandler – 7/8, 113 yards, TD
CAR – Rodney Peete – 18/35, 179 yards, TD
Top rushers
CHI – Leon Johnson – 16 rushes, 29 yards
CAR – Dee Brown – 23 rushes, 55 yards, 2 TD
Top receivers
CHI – Dez White – 2 receptions, 81 yards, 2 TD
CAR – Steve Smith Sr. – 4 receptions, 97 yards
Standings
Division
Conference
#
Team
Division
W
L
T
PCT
DIV
CONF
SOS
SOV
Division leaders
1[ a]
Philadelphia Eagles
East
12
4
0
.750
5–1
11–1
.469
.432
2[ a] [ b]
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
South
12
4
0
.750
4–2
9–3
.482
.432
3[ a] [ b]
Green Bay Packers
North
12
4
0
.750
5–1
9–3
.451
.414
4
San Francisco 49ers
West
10
6
0
.625
5–1
8–4
.504
.450
Wild Cards
5
New York Giants
East
10
6
0
.625
5–1
8–4
.482
.450
6
Atlanta Falcons
South
9
6
1
.594
4–2
7–5
.494
.429
Did not qualify for the postseason
7
New Orleans Saints
South
9
7
0
.563
3–3
7–5
.498
.566
8[ c]
St. Louis Rams
West
7
9
0
.438
4–2
5–7
.508
.446
9[ c]
Seattle Seahawks
West
7
9
0
.438
2–4
5–7
.506
.433
10[ d]
Washington Redskins
East
7
9
0
.438
1–5
4–8
.527
.438
11[ d]
Carolina Panthers
South
7
9
0
.438
1–5
4–8
.486
.357
12
Minnesota Vikings
North
6
10
0
.375
4–2
5–7
.498
.417
13[ e]
Arizona Cardinals
West
5
11
0
.313
1–5
5–7
.500
.400
14[ e]
Dallas Cowboys
East
5
11
0
.313
1–5
3–9
.500
.475
15
Chicago Bears
North
4
12
0
.250
2–4
3–9
.521
.430
16
Detroit Lions
North
3
13
0
.188
1–5
3–9
.494
.375
Tiebreakers [ f]
^ a b c Philadelphia finished ahead of Tampa Bay and Green Bay based on conference record (11–1 vs 9–3/9–3).
^ a b Tampa Bay finished ahead of Green Bay based on head-to-head victory.
^ a b St. Louis finished ahead of Seattle based on division record (4–2 to 2–4).
^ a b Washington finished ahead of Carolina based on common games (2–3 to 1–4)
^ a b Arizona finished ahead of Dallas based on head-to-head victory.
^ When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest-ranked remaining team from each division.
References
Franchise Stadiums Culture and lore Rivalries Hall of Honor Wild card berths (2) Division championships (6) Conference championships (2) Retired numbers Media Current league affiliations