2003: The Panthers started their season in dramatic fashion with a 24-23 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars as QB Jake Delhomme came off the bench and led a 17-point 4th quarter rally connecting with Ricky Prohel with 16 seconds left for the winning TD. In Week 2 the Panthers were shutting down the defending champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers when suddenly on the last play of regulation the Bucs appeared to have the game won with a TD. However, the Panthers were given a stunning stay of execution as the Panthers blocked Martin Gramatica's PAT. In overtime the Panthers would take advantage beating the Bucs on a 47-yard FG by John Kasay. After winning the next 2 games the Panthers faced the Indianapolis Colts in Week 6 in a showdown of unbeaten teams. Again the Panthers would win in dramatic fashion rallying from a 13-3 halftime deficit to win in overtime 23-20, improving to 5-0. After losing to the Tennessee Titans the following the Panthers again came from behind to win overtime beating the New Orleans Saints on the road 23-20. After a stunning loss to the Houston Texans the Panthers again won in dramatic fashion sweeping the Buccaneers 27-24 with a 5-yard Delhomme to Steve Smith TD with 1:05 left to give the Panthers full control of the NFC South. The following week the Panthers did it again as Stephen Davis made his former team pay scoring a TD with 1:09 left as the Panthers beat the Washington Redskins 20-17. At 8-2 the Panthers were one of the biggest surprises in the NFL. However things would be rough as the Panthers lost their next 3 games. Needing to get momentum into the playoffs the Panthers took advantage of weak competition beating three last place teams to close the season with a solid 11-5 record good enough for their second division title in franchise history. The Panthers got their playoffs off to a strong start with a dominant 29-10 win over the Dallas Cowboys at home avenging a loss from the regular season, holding the Cowboys to just 204 total yards along the way as Stephen Davis alone collected 239 All-Purpose Yards with 2 Touchdowns. The Panthers second round game on the road against the St. Louis Rams would not be nearly as easy as the Rams scored 11 points in the final 5 minutes to send the game to overtime tied 23-23. After each team missed potential game winning field goals in the first overtime the Panthers again showed their flare for the dramatic as Jake Delhomme connected with Steve Smith on a dramatic 69-yard TD pass on the first play of the 6th Quarter as the Panthers advanced to the NFC Championship Game with a 30-23 win. Facing the Philadelphia Eagles not many people had given the Panthers a chance to reach the Super Bowl. However the Panthers defense harassed and hassled QB Donovan McNair all game as Ricky Manning intercepted McNabb 3 times, while pressuring him all game with 5 sacks one of which injured the All-Pro QB's ribs eventually forcing him to miss the entire 4th Quarter, as the Panthers advanced to Super Bowl XXXVIII with a 14-3 win.

Super Bowl XXXVIII: The Panthers road to Super Bowl XXXVIII had been an improbable one, just 2 seasons after a wretched 1-15 season the Panthers were now in the biggest game of them all against the New England Patriots. After a scoreless 1st Quarter the Patriots drew first blood after Jake Delhomme fumbled on the Panthers own 20-yard line. The Panthers would recover with a quick 90-yard drive to tie the game at 7. However the Pats responded with a quick drive of their own to take a 14-7 lead with 18 seconds left in the half.  The Panthers would not go quietly into halftime as they moved into FG range quickly allowing John Kasay to hit a 50-yard FG as time expired in the 2nd Quarter. After a scoreless 3rd Quarter the Patriots would extend their lead to 21-10 just 11 seconds into the 4th Quarter. The Panthers would strike back quickly on Deshaun Foster's 33-yard Touchdown run. After the Panthers 2-point try failed the score was 21-16, but the Panthers had not been in control all game as the Pats drove down the field an appeared to be on the way to putting the game away when Reggie Howard intercepted Tom Brady's pass in the endzone. The Panthers would take full advantage and on one play turned the Super Bowl into a contest as Jake Delhomme connected with Mushin Muhammad on an 85-yard TD pas to give the Panthers a 22-21 lead. Unfortunately the Panthers 2-point conversion attempt would fail again. The Panthers lead would not last as the Pats scored a TD on the next drive, while adding a 2-point conversion to take a 29-22 lead. However, the resilient Panthers would not go away quietly tying the game with 1:08 left to tie the game. However, the Panthers kickoff went out of bounds and the Patriots were set up at the 40 only needing to get into Field Goal range to win the game. The Pats would drive 47 yards as Tom Brady in familiar territory set up Adam Vinatieri who nailed a 37-yard FG as time expired to give the Pats the Lombardi Trophy with a 32-29 win.