My Top 10 Greatest Panther Games Ever

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CHARLOTTE, NC - NOVEMBER 9: A general view of Ericsson Stadium as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers come into town to take on the Carolina Panthers on November 9, 2003 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers defeated the Buccaneers 27-24. (Photo by Craig Jone

My first slide show I will list and explain my top 10 Carolina Panther games ever. This team has a brief history that up to this point has been an amazing roller coaster ride.

All my heart and soul is poured into this team 365 days a year. In some of these games listed I had minor heart attacks, but the Panthers revived me using their "in house" defibrillator system they carry with them every season.

To be a Panther fan, it is a must to have regular blood pressure checks. Live on "Cardiac Cats"!!!!!!

10: Carolina 24 Minnesota 13...Sept. 9, 2001

09 December 2001: Chris Weinke # 16 of the Carolina Panthers throws a pass against the Buffalo Bills during their game at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, New York. Buffalo won 25-24. DIGITAL IMAGE. Mandatory Credit: Rick Stewart/Allsport

Most Panther fans would ask me "why would you ever put this game on this list?" Well I have a couple reasons.

First, it was the debut of Steve Smith. The opening kickoff of his rookie season...the first time he ever touched the football in the NFL regular season...he returned it the distance.

This game was the first for Smitty. Also it holds significance because it was the only win that year. I still struggled putting it on because it was 2 days before the darkest days of the nation....9/11/01.

9: Carolina 38 Tampa Bay 23....Dec. 8, 2008

CHARLOTTE, NC - DECEMBER 08: Jonathan Stewart #28 of the Carolina Panthers celebrates with teammates after scoring a touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Bank of America Stadium on December 8, 2008 in Charlotte, North Carolina (Photo by Street

Monday Night Football, battle for first, Bank of America Stadium. The game that sent Carolina closer to a division crown and sent Tampa Bay reeling after giving up 299 yards rushing to DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart.

8: Carolina 13 San Fransisco 7....Nov. 5, 1995

17 Dec 1995: Linebacker Lamar Lathon #57 of the Carolina Panthers raises his arms to the sideline after the play against the Atlanta Falcons at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina. The Panthers defeated the Falcons 21-17. Mandatory Credit: Crai

The first ever expansion team to beat Defending Super Bowl Champions right out of the gate. And we did it in their house. The big play I remember from this game is Tyrone Poole stripping Jerry Rice in the red zone.

Our expansion year we finished off winning seven out of our last 11 games. Those were good times.

7: Carolina 23 NY Giants 0....Jan. 7, 2006.

Steve Smith of the Carolina Panthers runs past Nick Greisen during the NFC Wild Card playoff game between the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on January 8, 2006. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Imag

Win a road game in the playoffs? And record a shut-out as well? The two things I remember about this game is the look on Coughlin's face and how loud the N.Y. fans were booing the home team. That set up my next slide by the way.

6: Carolina 29 Chicago 21....Jan. 15, 2006

CHICAGO - JANUARY 15: Steve Smith #89 of the Carolina Panthers breaks away form Brian Urlacher #54 and Jerry Azumah #23 of the Chicago Bears in the NFC Divisional playoff game at Soldier Field on January 15, 2006 in Chicago, Illinois. The Panthers defeat

The best part about this is they dominated us in the regular season and bad mouthed the Panthers. They completely shut Steve Smith down the first match-up and were overly confident they would repeat the performance.

Steve Smith and Jake Delhomme rolled Chicago for yet another road playoff win in 2006.

5: Carolina 29 Dallas 10....Jan. 4, 2004

CHARLOTTE, NC - NOVEMBER 16: Running back Stephen Davis #48 of the Carolina Panthers carries the ball against the Washington Redskins during the game at Ericsson Stadium on November 16, 2003 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers defeated the Redski

Anytime you knock the Cowboys out of the playoffs, it's a big win. What a great game this was if you are a Panther fan. Steven Davis broke many tackles in this game.

4: Carolina 26 N.Y.Jets 15....Oct. 15, 1995

1 Oct 1995: Linebacker Sam Mills #51 of the Carolina Panthers looks to the sideline for the defensive alignment call while standing in the team huddle in between plays during the Panthers 20-13 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Memorial Stadium in Clem

First ever win for the franchise. How could it not be on the list? I would put it No. 1 on the list because of the significance of the win, the only reason I didn't is because Carolina was supposed to win that game.

They were a better team. Still with it being Carolina's first, it peeks at No. 4. I still remember Panther LB Sam Mills intercepting a pass and returning it for a TD to solidify the win.

3: Carolina 29 Dallas 10....Jan. 5, 1997

5 Jan 1997: Wide receiver Michael Irvin of the Dallas Cowboys looks on during a playoff game against the Carolina Panthers at Ericsson Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers won the game, 26-17. Mandatory Credit: Doug Pensinger /Allsport

Who could ever forget that night? Carolina in its second season finished 12-4, and won all eight home games in the regular season. The regular season set up a huge matchup against the zoo.

Michael Irvin, Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Deion Sanders, and Barry Switzer get embarrassed against the Panthers. I remember Deion with a patch over his eye, and Irvin getting hurt after a hit with Kevin Greene. Dallas...0-2 against Carolina in the playoffs.

2: Carolina 14 Philadelphia 3....Jan. 18, 2004

PHILADELPHIA - JANUARY 18: Running back DeShaun Foster #20 of the Carolina Panthers scores a touchdown on a 1-yard run against the Philadelphia Eagles in the third quarter during the NFC Championship game on January 18, 2004 at Lincoln Financial Field in

The NFC Championship, 2004. We were picked by many to get smacked in Philly. They forgot how dominant the Panthers defense was that season.

And who could ever forget the ridiculous TD run Foster had in that game. He was tackled and pushed out of bounds at least 10 times...so we thought.

I remember I couldn't wait to see the replay to see how he scored that TD. I'm sure that ball shown in this picture is in Foster's house somewhere for all to see.

1: Carolina 29 St. Louis 23 2OT....Jan. 10th, 2004

ST. LOUIS - JANUARY10: Receiver Steve Smith #89 of the Carolina Panthers gets behind the St. Louis Rams defense to score the winning touchdown in overtime in the NFC Divisional Playoffs on January 10, 2004 at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Missouri.

I hope there aren't many arguments here. This is not only one of the greatest Panther games I ever seen, it might be top 5 greatest game I have ever seen period. In any sport. I wish I had this game on my DVR I would watch it every week at least once. There are not enough words to describe the drama that played out that Sat. evening. Muhammad scored a TD, but it came off a fumble recovery, Panthers blow an 11 point lead with less than 3 to play, give up a 2 pt. conversion for the tie to Faulk, kick the winning FG in OT...no wait penalty on the field...miss the FG., Rams miss a winning FG in OT, then we all know what happened to start the 2nd OT. Third and long and Delhomme hits Smith on a deep post in stride. Ball game.
I flirted with putting Super Bowl 38 in my slide show, but I will save that for my list of "Hardest defeats to swallow by the Panthers." Please let me know if I left any out that should not have been left out.

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