2016 Carolina Panthers Schedule: Full Listing of Dates, Times and TV Info

The Carolina Panthers have a lot to live up to in 2016 after going 15-1 this past season and making it all the way to Super Bowl 50, where they lost 24-10 to the Denver Broncos. 

Reigning NFL MVP Cam Newton didn't have a lot of talent at wide receiver to work with last year, yet he still had his best season under center in Carolina.

The team's defense is also among the best in the game, led by a lockdown corner in Josh Norman and star linebackers Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis. That unit, combined with Newton's superb dual-threat quarterbacking abilities, figures to make the Panthers a contender this season.

Check out Carolina's complete 2016 schedule below, accompanied by analysis for the upcoming year and a brief breakdown of some of the Panthers' most critical matchups.

Week	Date	Opponent	Time (ET)	TV
1	Sept. 8	at Denver Broncos	8:30 p.m.	NBC
2	Sept. 18	vs. San Francisco 49ers	1 p.m.	Fox
3	Sept. 25	vs. Minnesota Vikings	1 p.m.	Fox
4	Oct. 2	at Atlanta Falcons	1 p.m.	Fox
5	Oct. 10	vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers	8:30 p.m.	ESPN
6	Oct. 16	at New Orleans Saints	1 p.m.	Fox
7	BYE
8	Oct. 30	vs. Arizona Cardinals	4:25 p.m.	Fox
9	Nov. 6	at Los Angeles Rams	4:05 p.m.	Fox
10	Nov. 13	vs. Kansas City Chiefs	1 p.m.	CBS
11	Nov. 17	vs. New Orleans Saints	8:25 p.m.	NBC, NFLN
12	Nov. 27	at Oakland Raiders	4:25 p.m.	CBS
13	Dec. 4	at Seattle Seahawks	8:30 p.m.	NBC
14	Dec. 11	vs. San Diego Chargers	1 p.m.	Fox
15	Dec. 19	at Washington Redskins	8:30 p.m.	ESPN
16	Dec. 24	vs. Atlanta Falcons	1 p.m.	Fox
17	Jan. 1	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	1 p.m.	Fox

Analysis

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Kelvin Benjamin, Newton's best wide receiver from 2014, went down before last season even began with a torn ACL. One can only wonder what a fully healed Benjamin will bring to an offense that led the league in points without him.

Between Benjamin (6'5") and Devin Funchess (6'4"), Newton has two massive targets to work with on the outside, in addition to an elite pass-catching tight end in Greg Olsen, who led the Panthers with 1,104 receiving yards in 2015.

That should make deep-threat Ted Ginn Jr. all the more dangerous as defenses have to account for Benjamin again.

The face of the Panthers franchise likely won't allow his team to have a letdown this year based on his comments after losing a shot at the Lombardi Trophy.

"I'm on record as being a sore loser. I hate losing. You show me a good loser, and I'll show you a loser," said Newton, per the Charlotte Observer's Jonathan Jones.

Such talk could be be perceived as a red flag and a sign of a player who doesn't know how to handle adversity. Except Newton is far from an average player or the usual star signal-caller—his blend of size (6'5", 245 lbs), arm talent and athleticism is arguably the most unique the sport has ever seen.

And Newton has been under the microscope since the Panthers drafted him No. 1 overall in 2011. He knows he has to be great. Doubters have looked foolish in retrospect in light of what Newton has accomplished on the field lately. It seems ludicrous to count him out moving forward on that basis.

Much of Carolina's NFC-winning nucleus is returning in 2016 on both sides of the ball. As long as the Panthers can stay healthy, a deep playoff run is a realistic expectation.

Pivotal Matchups

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The clear NFC standout on the Panthers' schedule pits the team in a captivating duel with the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field.

Seattle is perhaps the most difficult place for an opponent to play. Carolina had home-field advantage in the postseason's divisional round and weathered a furious Seahawks comeback before prevailing 31-24.

These two teams' playoff meeting following the 2014 campaign resulted in a 31-17 Seattle win. In the regular season, Carolina won the last clash this past year but lost the prior three to QB Russell Wilson and Co. in what's proving to be a budding NFC rivalry.

A Super Bowl rematch on the road with Denver ought to be fascinating as well for obvious reasons, in particular because of the Broncos' uncertain QB situation after Peyton Manning's retirement and Brock Osweiler's departure in free agency.

The home slate for Carolina promises to be a dandy with three teams who won at least 11 games paying a visit to Bank of America Stadium. An NFC title game rematch against the Arizona Cardinals looms, as do games against the Minnesota Vikings and Kansas City Chiefs.

Due to the parity factor in the NFL, it's tricky to assess a strength of schedule based on the prior year's records. If those are even a minor indication, though, the Panthers' road back to the Super Bowl—not to mention a fourth straight NFC South title—appears to be a tough one.