2005 Carolina Panthers season

2005 Carolina Panthers season
Owner	Jerry Richardson
General manager	Marty Hurney
Head coach	John Fox
Home field	Bank of America Stadium
Results
Record	11–5
Division place	2nd NFC South
Playoff finish	Won Wild Card Playoffs (at Giants) 23–0 Won Divisional Playoffs (at Bears) 29–21 Lost NFC Championship (at Seahawks) 14–34
Pro Bowlers	QB Jake Delhomme DE Julius Peppers WR Steve Smith G Mike Wahle

The 2005 season was the Carolina Panthers' 11th in the National Football League (NFL) and their fourth under head coach John Fox. It was also the team's ninth season at Bank of America Stadium. They improved on their 7–9 record from 2004, going 11–5, and made it to the playoffs for the first time since their Super Bowl appearance in 2003. They eventually fell to the Seattle Seahawks 34–14 in the NFC Championship Game.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 2005 NFL Draft

2005 Carolina Panthers draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	14	Thomas Davis *	LB	Georgia
2	54	Eric Shelton	RB	Louisville
3	79	Evan Mathis *	OG	Alabama
3	89	Atiyyah Ellison	DT	Missouri
4	121	Stefan LeFors	QB	Louisville
5	149	Adam Seward	LB	UNLV
5	169	Geoff Hangartner	C	Texas A&M
5	171	Ben Emanuel	S	UCLA
6	189	Jovan Haye	DE	Vanderbilt
6	207	Joe Berger	G	Michigan Tech
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff

2005 Carolina Panthers staff

Front office Owner/founder – Jerry Richardson President – Mark Richardson General manager – Marty Hurney Director of college scouting – Tony Softli Director of pro scouting – Mark Koncz Head coaches Head coach – John Fox Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Dan Henning Running backs – Jim Skipper Wide receivers – Richard Williamson Tight ends – Dave Magazu Offensive line – Mike Maser Offensive assistant/quarterbacks – Mike McCoy

Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Mike Trgovac Defensive line – Sal Sunseri Linebackers – Ken Flajole Secondary – Rod Perry Defensive assistant/safeties – Mike Gillhamer Defensive assistant – Sam Mills III Special teams coaches Special teams coordinator – Danny Crossman Special teams assistant – Paul Ferraro Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Jerry Simmons

Roster

2005 Carolina Panthers roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 17 Jake Delhomme 15 Stefan LeFors 16 Chris Weinke Running backs (RB) 49 Casey Cramer FB 26 DeShaun Foster 37 Nick Goings 45 Brad Hoover FB 22 Jamal Robertson KR 32 Rod Smart KR Wide receivers (WR) 18 Drew Carter 83 Keary Colbert 88 Karl Hankton  5 Efrem Hill 81 Ricky Proehl 89 Steve Smith Tight ends (TE) 84 Michael Gaines 86 Kris Mangum 82 Mike Seidman

Offensive linemen (OL) 78 Todd Fordham T 69 Jordan Gross T 63 Geoff Hangartner C 61 Dave Kadela T 71 Evan Mathis G 60 Jeff Mitchell C 76 Tutan Reyes G 68 Mike Wahle G 70 Travelle Wharton T Defensive linemen (DL) 99 Brentson Buckner DT 67 Jordan Carstens DT 98 Atiyyah Ellison DT 92 Jovan Haye DE 94 Kindal Moorehead DT 90 Julius Peppers DE 97 Kemp Rasmussen DE 93 Mike Rucker DE 96 Al Wallace DE

Linebackers (LB) 54 Vinny Ciurciu OLB 52 Chris Draft MLB 55 Dan Morgan MLB 53 Brandon Short OLB 57 Sean Tufts OLB 54 Will Witherspoon OLB Defensive backs (DB) 47 Thomas Davis SS 20 Chris Gamble 29 Jermaine Hardy FS 21 Ken Lucas CB 24 Ricky Manning CB 27 Marlon McCree SS 30 Mike Minter FS 21 Dante Wesley CB Special teams  7 Jason Baker P  4 John Kasay K 56 Jason Kyle LS

Practice squad 95 Lorenzo Alexander DT 46 David Bergeron LB 25 Alex Haynes RB 31 Billy Parker S 64 Scott Peters G 85 Chris Samp WR 91 Khaleed Vaughn DE 38 Garnell Wilds CB Reserve 33 Idrees Bashir S (IR) 28 Colin Branch S (IR) 48 Stephen Davis RB (IR) -- Scott Farley S (IR) 66 Matt Hill T (NF-Inj.) 77 Kris Jenkins DT (IR) 59 Adam Seward LB (IR) 35 Eric Shelton RB (IR) Rookies in italics 53 active, 8 reserve, 8 practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 11	New Orleans Saints	L 20–23	0–1	Bank of America Stadium	72,920
2	September 18	New England Patriots	W 27–17	1–1	Bank of America Stadium	73,528
3	September 25	at Miami Dolphins	L 24–27	1–2	Dolphins Stadium	72,288
4	October 3	Green Bay Packers	W 32–29	2–2	Bank of America Stadium	73,657
5	October 9	at Arizona Cardinals	W 24–20	3–2	Sun Devil Stadium	38,809
6	October 16	at Detroit Lions	W 21–20	4–2	Ford Field	61,083
7	Bye
8	October 30	Minnesota Vikings	W 38–13	5–2	Bank of America Stadium	73,502
9	November 6	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 34–14	6–2	Raymond James Stadium	65,014
10	November 13	New York Jets	W 30–3	7–2	Bank of America Stadium	73,529
11	November 20	at Chicago Bears	L 3–13	7–3	Soldier Field	62,156
12	November 27	at Buffalo Bills	W 13–9	8–3	Ralph Wilson Stadium	71,440
13	December 4	Atlanta Falcons	W 24–6	9–3	Bank of America Stadium	73,661
14	December 11	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 10–20	9–4	Bank of America Stadium	73,467
15	December 18	at New Orleans Saints	W 27–10	10–4	Tiger Stadium	32,551
16	December 24	Dallas Cowboys	L 20–24	10–5	Bank of America Stadium	73,436
17	January 1	at Atlanta Falcons	W 44–11	11–5	Georgia Dome	70,796
Note: Division games are in bold text.

Standings

NFC South
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
(3) Tampa Bay Buccaneers	11	5	0	.688	5–1	9–3	300	274	W2
(5) Carolina Panthers	11	5	0	.688	4–2	8–4	391	259	W1
Atlanta Falcons	8	8	0	.500	2–4	5–7	351	341	L3
New Orleans Saints	3	13	0	.188	1–5	1–11	235	398	L5

Postseason

Main article: 2005–06 NFL playoffs

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
Wild Card	January 8	at New York Giants (4)	W 23–0	1–0	Giants Stadium	79,378
Divisional	January 15	at Chicago Bears (2)	W 29–21	2–0	Soldier Field	62,209
Conference	January 22	at Seattle Seahawks (1)	L 14–34	2–1	Qwest Field	67,837

Wild Card Round

Carolina Panthers 23, New York Giants 0

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	0	10	7	6	23
Giants	0	0	0	0	0

at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

• Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: Sunny, 44 °F (7 °C)
• Game attendance: 79,378
• Referee: Bill Leavy
• TV announcers (Fox): Joe Buck (play-by-play), Troy Aikman (color commentator), Pam Oliver and Chris Myers (sideline reporters)
• Recap, Game Book

Game information

First quarter No scoring plays Second quarter CAR – Steve Smith 22-yard pass from Jake Delhomme (John Kasay kick), 9:41. Panthers 7–0. Drive: 12 plays, 77 yards, 7:46. CAR – John Kasay 31-yard field goal, 0:30. Panthers 10–0. Drive: 4 plays, 2 yards, 0:58. Third quarter CAR – Steve Smith 12-yard run (John Kasay kick), 6:57. Panthers 17–0. Drive: 1 play, 12 yards, 0:06. Fourth quarter CAR – John Kasay 45-yard field goal, 13:33. Panthers 20–0. Drive: 10 plays, 55 yards, 6:07. CAR – John Kasay 18-yard field goal, 2:40. Panthers 23–0. Drive: 14 plays, 55 yards, 8:55.

The Panthers forced five turnovers, limited the Giants to only 109 yards of total offense, and became the first club to shut out a home playoff team since the Los Angeles Rams shut out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 1979 NFC Championship Game. Although the Giants entered the game with Pro Bowler Tiki Barber starting at running back, the Panthers running game, featuring DeShaun Foster and Nick Goings, outgained the Giants 223 yards to 41 on the ground. Carolina wide receiver Steve Smith caught 10 passes for 84 yards and scored two touchdowns, a 22-yard reception and a 12-yard run, while kicker John Kasay added three field goals and Foster rushed for 151 yards. Meanwhile, quarterback Eli Manning threw three interceptions in his first playoff start.

After the first five possessions of the game ended with punts, Carolina drove 77 yards in 12 plays and scored with Jake Delhomme's 22-yard touchdown pass to Smith. On Carolina's next possession, they were forced to punt, but New York safety Gibril Wilson muffed the kick and Panthers defensive back Dante Wesley recovered the ball at the Giants 15-yard line, setting up a 31-yard Kasay field goal to increase the lead to 10–0.

Carolina dominated the second half, intercepting Eli Manning three times. Midway through the third quarter, Ken Lucas intercepted a pass from Manning and returned it 14 yards to the Giants 12-yard line, setting up Delhomme's 12-yard touchdown pass to Smith on the next play. On New York's next drive, a 17-yard pass interference penalty on Lucas nullified his second interception and gave the Giants a first down at the Panthers 43-yard line. But two plays later, Manning's pass was intercepted by Marlon McCree at the 18. On the Panthers ensuing drive, Foster rushed three times for 44 yards, and Delhomme completed a 25-yard pass to Keary Colbert, moving the ball to the Giants 27-yard line where Kasay's 45-yard field goal made the score 20–0. Then five plays after the kickoff, McCree recorded his second interception on the Panthers 44-yard line. Carolina subsequently closed out the scoring with a 14-play, 55-yard drive that ended with Kasay's third field goal with 2:40 left in the game.

Divisional Round

Carolina Panthers 29, Chicago Bears 21

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	7	9	7	6	29
Bears	0	7	7	7	21

at Soldier Field, Chicago

• Date: January 15, 2006
• Game time: 4:30 p.m. EST/3:30 p.m. CST
• Game weather: Partly cloudy, 42 °F (6 °C)
• Game attendance: 62,209
• Referee: Walt Coleman
• TV announcers (Fox): Joe Buck (play-by-play), Troy Aikman (color commentator), Pam Oliver and Chris Myers (sideline reporters)
• Recap, Game Book

Game information

First quarter CAR – Steve Smith 58-yard pass from Jake Delhomme (John Kasay kick), 14:05. Panthers 7–0. Drive: 2 plays, 60 yards, 0:55. Second quarter CAR – John Kasay 20-yard field goal, 14:57. Panthers 10–0. Drive: 10 plays, 62 yards, 4:01. CAR – John Kasay 38-yard field goal, 6:26. Panthers 13–0. Drive: 8 plays, 40 yards, 4:26. CHI – Adrian Peterson 1-yard run (Robbie Gould kick), 1:57. Panthers 13–7. Drive: 9 plays, 67 yards, 4:29. CAR – John Kasay 37-yard field goal, 0:00. Panthers 16–7. Drive: 8 plays, 51 yards, 1:57. Third quarter CHI – Desmond Clark 1-yard pass from Rex Grossman (Robbie Gould kick), 11:21. Panthers 16–14. Drive: 8 plays, 68 yards, 3:39. CAR – Steve Smith 39-yard pass from Jake Delhomme (John Kasay kick), 2:07. Panthers 23–14. Drive: 5 plays, 56 yards, 3:24. Fourth quarter CHI – Jason McKie 3-yard run (Robbie Gould kick), 12:23. Panthers 23–21. Drive: 11 plays, 66 yards, 4:44. CAR – Kris Mangum 1-yard pass from Jake Delhomme (kick failed, hit right upright), 8:04. Panthers 29–21. Drive: 7 plays, 62 yards, 4:19.

The Panthers recorded 434 yards of total offense, and avenged a 13–3 regular season defeat by the Bears, to advance to their third NFC Championship Game in their eleven-year existence. Carolina receiver Steve Smith caught 12 passes for 219 yards and 2 touchdowns, the first coming 55 seconds into the contest, and rushed for 26 yards. Panthers kicker John Kasay contributed three second-quarter field goals, while quarterback Jake Delhomme threw for 319 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Panthers managed to hold off the Bears, however the team lost key running back DeShaun Foster to a broken ankle in the third quarter (which would severely cripple their running game in the NFC Championship match up to the Seahawks.)

The Panthers got the ball first and scored quickly. Jamal Robertson returned the opening kickoff 34 yards to the 40-yard line, and one play later, Delhomme threw a 58-yard touchdown pass to Smith. Later on, Smith's 46-yard reception set up a 20-yard field goal on the first play of the second quarter, increasing their lead to 10–0. On their next drive, Carolina had a chance to increase their lead even more after Delhomme completed passes to Drew Carter for gains of 14 and 29 yards, moving the ball to the Bears 23-yard line. But linebacker Brian Urlacher ended the drive by intercepting a pass from Delhomme at the 10. However, the Panthers forced another punt and scored with a second field goal from Kasay. Bears quarterback Rex Grossman completed 5 passes for 62 yards on a 67-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown run by Adrian Peterson cutting the score to 13–7. But Carolina stormed right back, driving 51 yards and scoring with Kasay's third field goal on the last play of the first half.

After the second half kickoff, a 24-yard run by Bears halfback Thomas Jones moved the ball to the Panthers 41-yard line. Then Grossman went to work, completing two passes to Bernard Berrian for 29 yards before finishing the drive with a 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Desmond Clark. But after an exchange of punts, Delhomme threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Smith, and the Panthers retook their 9-point lead.

Early in the fourth quarter, Chicago's Jason McKie scored a 3-yard touchdown run to cut their deficit to 23–21. But Delhomme led the Panthers right back, completing five passes for 45 yards and scoring with a 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Kris Mangum. After an exchange of punts, the Bears drove into Carolina territory, but defensive back Ken Lucas put the game away by intercepting a pass from Grossman on the Panthers 22-yard line.

Conference Championship

Seattle Seahawks 34, Carolina Panthers 14

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	0	7	0	7	14
Seahawks	10	10	7	7	34

at Qwest Field, Seattle, Washington

• Date: January 22, 2006
• Game time: 6:30 p.m. EST/3:30 p.m. PST
• Game weather: 48 °F (9 °C), cloudy
• Game attendance: 67,837
• Referee: Ed Hochuli
• TV announcers (Fox): Joe Buck (play-by-play), Troy Aikman (color commentator), Pam Oliver and Chris Myers (sideline reporters)
• Recap, Game Book

Game information

First quarter SEA – Jerramy Stevens 17-yard pass from Matt Hasselbeck (Josh Brown kick), 5:31. Seahawks 7–0. Drive: 5 plays, 57 yards, 2:16. SEA – Josh Brown 24-yard field goal, 2:23. Seahawks 10–0. Drive: 6 plays, 14 yards, 2:41. Second quarter SEA – Shaun Alexander 1-yard run (Josh Brown kick), 14:53. Seahawks 17–0. Drive: 4 plays, 17 yards, 0:57. CAR – Steve Smith 59-yard punt return (John Kasay kick), 9:05. Seahawks 17–7. SEA – Josh Brown 39-yard field goal, 4:03. Seahawks 20–7. Drive: 10 plays, 57 yards, 4:59. Third quarter SEA – Darrell Jackson 20-yard pass from Matt Hasselbeck (Josh Brown kick), 11:09. Seahawks 27–7. Drive: 8 plays, 65 yards, 3:51. Fourth quarter SEA – Shaun Alexander 1-yard run (Josh Brown kick), 6:00. Seahawks 34–7. Drive: 8 plays, 53 yards, 4:48. CAR – Drew Carter 47-yard pass from Jake Delhomme (John Kasay kick), 5:09. Seahawks 34–14. Drive: 4 plays, 80 yards, 0:51.

The Seahawks forced four turnovers, and allowed only 36 rushing yards and 14 points, as they advanced to their first Super Bowl trip in the team's 30-year history. Meanwhile, running back Shaun Alexander, coming off his divisional round injury, rushed for a franchise playoff record 134 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Midway through the first quarter, the Seahawks drove 57 yards in five plays, featuring a 28-yard reception by Seneca Wallace, and scored with quarterback Matt Hasselbeck's 17-yard touchdown pass to Jerramy Stevens. Then three plays after the ensuing kickoff, linebacker Lofa Tatupu intercepted a pass from Jake Delhomme and returned it 22 yards to the Panthers 20-yard line, setting up a field goal from Josh Brown. The next time Carolina got the ball, Delhomme was intercepted again, this time by Marquand Manuel, who returned it 32 yards to the Panthers 17-yard line, setting up Alexander's 1-yard touchdown run that increased Seattle's lead to 17–0 on the first play of the second quarter. The Panthers eventually cut the score to 17–7 on Steve Smith's 59-yard punt return for a touchdown with 9:56 left in the first half.

The Seahawks scored another 17 unanswered points. On their first drive after the punt return touchdown, that moved the ball 57 yards and scored with a 39-yard field goal from Brown. Brown missed a field goal on the Seahawks next possession, but on the first drive of the second half, they score with Hasselbeck's 20-yard touchdown pass Darrell Jackson. Then in the fourth quarter, they put the game completely out of reach with a 53-yard drive that ended with Alexander's second touchdown. Carolina responded with a 47-yard touchdown pass from Delhomme to receiver Drew Carter, cutting the score to 34–14, but by then there was only 5 minutes left in the game.