Carolina Panthers Trivia: The Most Important Facts About Charlotte’s NFL Team

The Carolina Panthers are currently struggling and are undergoing one of the worst stretches in their franchise’s history. They have had some excellent seasons and interesting team history. As one of two expansion teams in 1995, the Carolina Panthers are still a relatively young franchise, but there has still been enough time to build some noteworthy facts.

In this article, we’ll challenge fans to see who are die-hards vs. the box score checkers, as we have questions ranging from easy to obscure.

Carolina Panthers Trivia

We’ve broken down our questions into several categories: Panthers players, notable statistics, team accomplishments, and miscellaneous.

Panthers Players

• Who was the Panthers’ first pick in the 1995 NFL Expansion Draft?
  • Rod Smith of the New England Patriots
• One of the best wide receivers in Panther history, Muhsin Muhammad, played his college football for which school?
  • Michigan State
• Who was the first player to be cut by the Carolina Panthers?
  • Bill Goldberg, who went on to become one of the most famous professional wrestlers of his era.
• Who was the first NFL Draft pick by the Carolina Panthers?
  • Kerry Collins was drafted fifth overall by the Panthers in the 1995 NFL draft.
• What round was Panthers star receiver Steve Smith drafted in?
  • Third round, 74th overall: Great value for a player who leads the Panthers all-time in receptions, receiving touchdowns, and receiving yards.
• Which Panther led the NFL in tackles as a rookie?
  • Luke Kuechly led the league in tackles during his rookie year with 164.

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Statistics

• Who held the single-season rushing record for the Panthers first?
  • Derrick Moore, who rushed for 740 yards in the Panther’s 1995 inaugural season.
• How many players have rushed for over 1,000 yards in a season multiple times as a Carolina Panther?
  • Two: Christian McCaffrey and DeAngelo Williams each have two 1,000-yard rushing seasons as a Panther.
• How many players have rushed for more than 10 touchdowns in a season multiple times as a Carolina Panther?
  • Two: Cam Newton and Jonathan Stewart have both had two seasons with double-digit rushing touchdowns. Interestingly one of the two times Stewart did it, DeAngelo Williams, had 18 touchdowns himself in that 2008 season.
• Who has the single-season record for passing yards as a Carolina Panther?
  • Steve Beuerlein threw for 4,436 yards and led the league in passing in 1999.
• Who was the Panther that threw for 400 yards in his debut?
  • Cam Newton destroyed the NFL rookie debut record for passing yards.
• Who was the first Panther to ever have 1,000 receiving yards?
  • Mark Carrier had 1,002 yards in the Panthers’ 1995 season.
• What player other than a kicker leads the Panthers in career points?
  • Steve Smith has 454 points and is third all-time in points scored as a Panther. Kickers John Kasay and Graham Gano are first and second all-time with 1,482 and 742, respectively.
• Who leads the Panthers in return yardage (punts & kicks) all time?
  • Michael Bates leads the Panthers with a combined 6,016 return yards all time. Bates rarely returned punts, though, with only eight career returns as a Panther. His combined return yardage included 5,987 yards on kick returns. 

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Team Accomplishments

• How many years did it take before Carolina had a winning season after their 1995 expansion into the NFL?
  • Two years, or in their second season. The Panthers were incredible, going 12-4.
• The Panthers own the best season as an expansion team. What was their record in their inaugural season?
  • 7-9
• Who was the first NFL team the Panthers beat in a regular season game?
  • The New York Jets. After starting their first season 0-4, the Panthers beat the Jets and started a five-game winning streak.

Miscellaneous

• Where did the Panthers play their first season in the NFL?
  • The Panthers played at Clemson’s Memorial Stadium while their stadium was being built.
• What is the Panther’s mascot name?
  • Sir Purr

AP Photo/Brian Westerholt