2021 Carolina Panthers season
27th season in franchise history
The 2021 season was the Carolina Panthers' 27th in the National Football League and their second under head coach Matt Rhule.
| 2021 Carolina Panthers season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | David Tepper |
| Head coach | Matt Rhule |
| General manager | Scott Fitterer |
| Home field | Bank of America Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 5–12 |
| Division place | 4th NFC South |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers | DE Brian Burns |
| Uniform | |
 | |
Draft change
| Round | Selection | Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | Jaycee Horn | CB | South Carolina |
| 2 | 59 | Terrace Marshall Jr. | WR | LSU |
| 3 | 73 | Brady Christensen | OT | BYU |
| 83 | Tommy Tremble | TE | Notre Dame | |
| 4 | 126 | Chuba Hubbard | RB | Oklahoma State |
| 5 | 158 | Daviyon Nixon | DT | Iowa |
| 166 | Keith Taylor | CB | Washington | |
| 6 | 193 | Deonte Brown | OG | Alabama |
| 204 | Shi Smith | WR | South Carolina | |
| 222 | Thomas Fletcher | LS | Alabama | |
| 7 | 232 | Phil Hoskins | DT | Kentucky |
Regular season change
Schedule change
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 12 | New York Jets | W 19–14 | 1–0 | Bank of America Stadium | Recap |
| 2 | September 19 | New Orleans Saints | W 26–7 | 2–0 | Bank of America Stadium | Recap |
| 3 | September 23 | at Houston Texans | W 24–9 | 3–0 | NRG Stadium | Recap |
| 4 | October 3 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 28–36 | 3–1 | AT&T Stadium | Recap |
| 5 | October 10 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 18–21 | 3–2 | Bank of America Stadium | Recap |
| 6 | October 17 | Minnesota Vikings | L 28–34 (OT) | 3–3 | Bank of America Stadium | Recap |
| 7 | October 24 | at New York Giants | L 3–25 | 3–4 | MetLife Stadium | Recap |
| 8 | October 31 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 19–13 | 4–4 | Mercedes-Benz Stadium | Recap |
| 9 | November 7 | New England Patriots | L 6–24 | 4–5 | Bank of America Stadium | Recap |
| 10 | November 14 | at Arizona Cardinals | W 34–10 | 5–5 | State Farm Stadium | Recap |
| 11 | November 21 | Washington Football Team | L 21–27 | 5–6 | Bank of America Stadium | Recap |
| 12 | November 28 | at Miami Dolphins | L 10–33 | 5–7 | Hard Rock Stadium | Recap |
| 13 | Bye | |||||
| 14 | December 12 | Atlanta Falcons | L 21–29 | 5–8 | Bank of America Stadium | Recap |
| 15 | December 19 | at Buffalo Bills | L 14–31 | 5–9 | Highmark Stadium | Recap |
| 16 | December 26 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 6–32 | 5–10 | Bank of America Stadium | Recap |
| 17 | January 2 | at New Orleans Saints | L 10–18 | 5–11 | Caesars Superdome | Recap |
| 18 | January 9 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 17–41 | 5–12 | Raymond James Stadium | Recap |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Standings change
Division change
| NFC South | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| (2) Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 13 | 4 | 0 | .765 | 4–2 | 8–4 | 511 | 353 | W3 |
| New Orleans Saints | 9 | 8 | 0 | .529 | 4–2 | 7–5 | 364 | 335 | W2 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 7 | 10 | 0 | .412 | 2–4 | 4–8 | 313 | 459 | L2 |
| Carolina Panthers | 5 | 12 | 0 | .294 | 2–4 | 3–9 | 304 | 404 | L7 |
Conference change
| # | Team | Division | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | SOS | SOV | STK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division winners | |||||||||||
| 1[a] | Green Bay Packers | North | 13 | 4 | 0 | .765 | 4–2 | 9–3 | .479 | .480 | L1 |
| 2[a] | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | South | 13 | 4 | 0 | .765 | 4–2 | 8–4 | .467 | .443 | W3 |
| 3[b] | Dallas Cowboys | East | 12 | 5 | 0 | .706 | 6–0 | 10–2 | .488 | .431 | W1 |
| 4[b] | Los Angeles Rams | West | 12 | 5 | 0 | .706 | 3–3 | 8–4 | .483 | .409 | L1 |
| Wild cards | |||||||||||
| 5 | Arizona Cardinals | West | 11 | 6 | 0 | .647 | 4–2 | 7–5 | .490 | .492 | L1 |
| 6 | San Francisco 49ers | West | 10 | 7 | 0 | .588 | 2–4 | 7–5 | .500 | .438 | W2 |
| 7[c] | Philadelphia Eagles | East | 9 | 8 | 0 | .529 | 3–3 | 7–5 | .469 | .350 | L1 |
| Did not qualify for the postseason | |||||||||||
| 8[c] | New Orleans Saints | South | 9 | 8 | 0 | .529 | 4–2 | 7–5 | .512 | .516 | W2 |
| 9 | Minnesota Vikings | North | 8 | 9 | 0 | .471 | 4–2 | 6–6 | .507 | .434 | W1 |
| 10[d] | Washington Football Team | East | 7 | 10 | 0 | .412 | 2–4 | 6–6 | .529 | .420 | W1 |
| 11[d][e] | Seattle Seahawks | West | 7 | 10 | 0 | .412 | 3–3 | 4–8 | .519 | .424 | W2 |
| 12[d][e] | Atlanta Falcons | South | 7 | 10 | 0 | .412 | 2–4 | 4–8 | .472 | .315 | L2 |
| 13 | Chicago Bears | North | 6 | 11 | 0 | .353 | 2–4 | 4–8 | .524 | .373 | L1 |
| 14 | Carolina Panthers | South | 5 | 12 | 0 | .294 | 2–4 | 3–9 | .509 | .412 | L7 |
| 15 | New York Giants | East | 4 | 13 | 0 | .235 | 1–5 | 3–9 | .536 | .485 | L6 |
| 16 | Detroit Lions | North | 3 | 13 | 1 | .206 | 2–4 | 3–9 | .528 | .627 | W1 |
| Tiebreakers[f] | |||||||||||
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