Carolina Panthers 2014 Regular Season in Review: The Successful Failure

How would one describe the Carolina Panthers' 2014 season? Unexpected. Lucky. Both terms lend credibility to the strange season experienced in Charlotte, North Carolina. Perhaps the best way to describe the year is a successful failure.

A failure because the team ended the regular season with a losing record, but successful as it won its division and returned to the playoffs.

The Panthers ended the regular season in the most peculiar manner—winning its division with a losing record (7-8-1) that included a seven-game winless streak and an overhaul of the offense during the offseason. Despite all of these setbacks, the Panthers never gave up and enter the postseason presenting themselves as a legitimate team to be reckoned with among the other playoff contenders.

But, how was it possible?

Give credit to the NFC South being ridiculously weak with underachieving teams. The New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons were the teams that were supposed to be playoff-bound. At best, the Panthers were regarded as a wild-card team in some preseason polls.

There was plenty of skepticism during the spring and even more so in November. The season was a turbulent one, with many highs and lows. How this Carolina team arrived where it is today is a testament to keeping the faith, believing in itself and trusting the future of the franchise.

Rocky Offseason

Season	Receptions	Yards	TDs
2014	274	3403	21
2013	229	2799	21

The Carolina front office did not win over its fans by jettisoning the entire receiving corps, one that included longtime fan-favorite Steve Smith. It was amazing to see the Panthers fail to re-sign any of their wide receivers from last season, opting instead to rebuild the unit and replacing catches per game. Still, the move to release Smith was one that not only upset the fanbase, but one that really irked the veteran Panther during the offseason and into the regular season.

Things didn't improve much with the domestic violence case involving former Pro Bowl defensive end Greg Hardy. The talented pass-rusher was indicted and later convicted of the charges. He played in Week 1 against Tampa Bay, but after the fallout of the Ray Rice incident, Hardy was placed on the commissioner's exempt list. So, Carolina found itself paying franchise tag money to a player to sit out what would be the entire season.

Needless to say, things were not moving in the direction that would suggest this was a team ready to defend its division title.

As training camp neared, there was concern about Cam Newton's health and when he would be ready to go. He was recovering from offseason ankle surgery and didn't make an appearance in the preseason until the third preseason game against New England. As luck, or rather misfortune, would have it, Newton would suffer a hairline fracture on his ribs and miss the remainder of the preseason and Week 1.

Things didn't look so good entering September, but the opening month provided reason for optimism.

Strong Start, Then Downward Spiral

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Carolina was strong out of the gate. Victories at Tampa Bay and home against Chicago started whispers of a decent season; the Panthers would win three of their first five games. The losses were understandable. Pittsburgh and Baltimore, both playoff teams, combined to route Carolina 75-29. A slight bit of optimism was restored in Week 5 after the Panthers defeated the Chicago Bears in Charlotte.

However, things would begin to unravel and Carolina was beginning to be dismissed from the playoff picture as it fell into a seven-game winless streak that began with a 37-37 tie with the Cincinnati Bengals. In the games that followed, the Panthers would either lose via blowout or in heartbreaking fashion.

Two of those losses, against Seattle and Atlanta, were by deficits of four and two points, respectively. The games that surrounded those close losses were defined as no-contests in which the Panthers lost by an average of 20 points. Surely, this was not a team destined to rebound and make a run at the division title. If anything, Carolina was in line for a top draft pick.

Then again, the Panthers played in an unusually weak division.

Winds of Change

Established stars like Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis were playing well, but changes needed to be made at other positions on both sides of the football.

The Carolina front office began making noise after a lousy November. Gone were the veterans Antoine Cason and Charles Godfrey. Replacing them were the young rookies, Bene Benwikere and Tre Boston. Thomas DeCoud saw his playing time vanish. Kony Ealy began to emerge as an end pass-rusher.

Jason Avant was released and replaced with undrafted rookie Philly Brown. Much like his fellow rookies, the young man did not disappoint when called upon.

The message was clear: if you're not going to be a contributor, we'll find someone else who can be.

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The youngsters didn't disappoint. Both Benwikere and Boston made the most of their newfound opportunities and became a part of a younger, faster and tenacious secondary. Roman Harper started channeling the player of old, especially in the season's final games. Josh Norman played with fire and aggression that was lacking within the unit for much of the year. Suddenly, a unit that was littered with question marks was becoming a legitimate threat to opposing offenses.

Carolina's secondary was not the only positional unit to experience a change in fortunes. The offensive line, the focal point of many fans' frustrations for not addressing the need for an offensive tackle, started to play a lot better. Ryan Kalil remained steady at center, but it took unknowns like rookie Andrew Norwell and journeyman Mike Remmers to help hold the line together. Soon, Trai Turner was healthy and making a difference on the interior. Even Byron Bell began playing slightly better.

Overall, the offense began to see an improvement in pass protection and in the running game. The primary benefactors were Newton and Jonathan Stewart. The offensive line played so well that Stewart was one of the leading rushers in the month of December with 401 yards.

There are no words for how appreciative Newton was of the line's improved play, especially after his accident.

An Unlikely Curveball

Things were looking up for the Carolina Panthers. The team was fresh off a decisive, blowout win against the rival Saints and had renewed hope for the postseason. Then, the unexpected happened.

The Panthers community was rocked by the news that Newton was involved in a serious car accident on December 9. Fortunately, Newton's injuries were minor and limited to two transverse process fractures in his lower back. Had the Panthers been out of playoff contention, it's likely the coaching staff would have shut him down for the season. But, this was a team playing in a weak division that still found itself in the hunt for the crown.

Derek Anderson would come on in relief yet again and against the same team he had beaten earlier in the year (Tampa Bay), but Newton would return to close out the season against Cleveland and Atlanta. He was 28-of-47 for 315 yards with two touchdowns and one interception over those last two games. Additionally, he rushed for 114 yards on 18 carries and scored two touchdowns. Individually, that kind of production didn't seem overly impressive. But, he was making better decisions and there seemed to be an air of confidence that wasn't there before.

December Perfection

It would take a perfect record for the Panthers to clinch the NFC South title and with games against New Orleans and Atlanta, such a feat seemed impossible. Carolina was able to beat division doormat Tampa Bay for the second time, but not before traveling to the Big Easy for an unlikely upset win. The Panthers routed the Saints to a tune of 41-10 and suddenly were back in control of their destiny.

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A win in the home finale against Cleveland set the stage for a winner-take-all game between the Panthers and Falcons in Atlanta. With the Falcons playing better and being undefeated in division play, much of the football world was picking Atlanta to win and move on to the playoffs.

However, Carolina's defense played a game for the ages. Harper and Boston contributed 14 points defensively and Matt Ryan was sacked six times as the Panthers annihilated the Falcons in front of Atlanta's home crowd. The perfect December remained intact as Ron Rivera's squad improved to 15-3 in the month under his watch.

"

How bout that Defense? @TreBos10 high steps into the end zone for the #Panthers second PICK 6 of the day! #CARvsATL pic.twitter.com/wrs7ZarRlR

— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) December 28, 2014"

"

Rivera is happy that #Panthers will have momentum heading into the playoffs. “We’ll go as far as we can take ourselves. One game at a time."

— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) December 29, 2014"

How this particular chapter of Carolina history ends has yet to be written. Even if the Panthers advance next week with a win over the Arizona Cardinals, this is a team that will be a constant underdog. However, this is a team with a lot of talented veterans and rookies. The players believe in Rivera, and as a result have enjoyed late-season success over the past four years.

Carolina has been through one crazy, up-and-down season, but it enters the postseason playing at a level nobody anticipated when the season began or at the end of November when all hope was lost. Regardless of this weekend's outcome, the 2014 campaign will go down as a successful failure.

Team and player information courtesy of Panthers.com and NFL.com. 

You can follow me as I follow the Carolina Panthers into the postseason.

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