1996 Carolina Panthers season The 1996 Carolina Panthers season was the second season for the team in the National Football League . They tried to improve upon their 7 - 9 record in 1995 , and make it to the playoffs for the first time in franchise history . The Panthers would be a huge surprise , as it would turn out , as the Panthers won their last seven games of the season to finish the season with a 12 - 4 record . The result was that the Panthers won the NFC West , and had a first round bye in the 1996 - 97 NFL Playoffs . The Panthers would then beat the Dallas Cowboys 26 - 17 before falling 30 - 13 to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers . Offseason . Unrestricted Free Agents Signed : Unrestricted Free Agents Lost : Schedule . Notable Games . September 8 @ New Orleans Saints . Acquired from the Jacksonville Jaguars , quarterback Steve Beuerlein did not throw a single pass , instead rushing three times for a net loss of ten yards ; Kerry Collins handled the quarterbacking duties , throwing for 171 yards and one pick while Jim Everett threw for 255 yards and two touchdowns . This game , though , was a battle of field goals ; following an 84 - yard Winslow Oliver punt return touchdown John Kasay provided the rest of Carolina ' s offense with five field goals , two of them 51 - yarders , for a 22 - 20 Panthers win . September 22 vs . San Francisco 49ers . The first sign that perennial NFC West champion San Francisco was in for a serious season - long fight with Carolina came as both 2 - 0 teams clashed at Ericcson Stadium . Steve Beuerlein started and threw for 290 yards , two touchdowns , and one pick ; a second pick was called back on a Niners holding call . The Panthers controlled the game from the opening kick as Steve Young was sacked four times and picked off in the fourth quarter by Brett Maxie ; Willie Green and Merton Hanks also spent the day jawing at each other following Green catches , ultimately finishing up in a 23 - 7 Carolina win . October 13 vs . St . Louis Rams . The Panthers erupted to over 30 points for the first time in their short history as they hammered the 1 - 4 Rams . Anthony Johnson rushed for 126 yards and Kerry Collins threw for 196 yards and three touchdowns , while Michael Bates added a 93 - yard kickoff - return score . Tony Banks was pounded all day , fumbling to Kevin Greene for a 66 - yard touchdown and then getting crushed by Panthers defenders as he unloaded a pass picked off by Chad Cota . The Panthers rocked to a 45 - 17 win . December 8 @ San Francisco 49ers . The Panthers effectively ended San Francisco ' s hopes of another division title in a matchup of two of the league ' s best defenses . The two defenses , however , got crushed by offense . The Panthers raced to a 10 - 0 lead in the first quarter but Steve Young found Brent Jones for a 10 - 7 score ; the second quarter was a points explosion as Kerry Collins connected with Willie Green and ex - Niner Wesley Walls while Young found rookie Terrell Owens from 46 yards out ; at the half the Panthers led 27 - 17 . Jerry Rice ' s five - yard touchdown catch in the fourth was the closest the Niners came to the Panthers as Young was picked off twice and the Niners fumbled two more times ; they also were hit with 14 penalties and 121 yards . Carolina thus finished a season sweep 30 - 24 ; Collins and Young combined for 620 passing yards . December 22 vs . Pittsburgh Steelers . Former Steelers coach Dom Capers and former Steelers linebacker Kevin Greene greeted Bill Cowher and his AFC Central champions for the regular - season finale . After a Wesley Walls touchdown catch Mike Tomczak was hit in the endzone ; he threw the ball before going down but it was ruled intentional grounding , for a Panthers safety . Kordell Stewart ran in an 80 - yard touchdown , but in the fourth down 18 - 14 the Steelers choked on a procedure penalty and then a Chad Cota interception in the endzone . The moment of the year , though , came in the second quarter on a Panthers punt ; the ball fell into the endzone and the mascot Sir Purr jumped on the ball even though it was still live ; Cowher was laughing hard at the miscue and Sir Purr was listed as having one punt return for zero yards . Playoffs . January 5 , 1997 . Carolina Panthers 26 , Dallas Cowboys 17 . The second - year Panthers held Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman to 165 passing yards and forced three interceptions en route to their first playoff win in team history . On offense , running back Anthony Johnson was their top performer with 104 rushing yards and a 9 - yard reception . Dallas scored first on kicker Chris Boniol ' s 22 - yard field goal , but wide receiver Michael Irvin was knocked out of the game with a separated shoulder . Carolina quarterback Kerry Collins then threw two touchdown passes , a 1 - yarder to tight end Wesley Walls and a 10 - yarder to wide receiver Willie Green . The Cowboys countered with a 73 - yard drive to score on Aikman ' s 2 - yard touchdown pass to running back Daryl Johnston , but they failed on the extra point attempt and the Panthers lead was only cut to 14 - 9 . A bad snap on a Carolina punt attempt went out of the end zone to give the Cowboys a safety . But Panthers safety Chad Cota intercepted a pass and returned it 49 yards to set up kicker John Kasay ' s 24 - yard field goal with three seconds in the half , giving Carolina a 17 - 11 halftime lead . The second half was a battle of field goals with Kasey kicking 3 over Boniol ' s 2 . January 12 , 1997 . NFC : Green Bay Packers 30 , Carolina Panthers 13 . The Packers recorded 201 rushing yards and 476 total yards of offense . Green Bay running back Dorsey Levens recorded 117 yards receiving and 88 yards rushing , including a 29 - yard touchdown catch . Quarterback Brett Favre managed to overcome two early turnovers that set up 10 Carolina points , completing 19 out of 29 passes for 292 yards and 2 touchdowns . Packers running back Edgar Bennett , who recorded 99 rushing yards , scored a touchdown from 4 yards out , and kicker Chris Jacke added 3 field goals . Early in the first quarter , Panthers linebacker Sam Mills intercepted a pass from Favre and returned it to the Packers 3 - yard line , setting up Kerry Collins ' 3 - yard touchdown pass to fullback Howard Griffith . Green Bay struck back with Favre ' s 29 - yard touchdown pass to Levens , but after forcing a punt , Carolina lineman Lamar Lathon recovered a fumble from Favre on the Packers 45 - yard line . A few plays later , John Kasay ' s 22 - yard field goal put the Panthers back in the lead , 10 - 7 . But after that , the Packers dominated the rest of the game . Favre responded by leading Green Bay 71 yards in 15 plays and scoring with a 6 - yard touchdown pass to Antonio Freeman . Then on the first play after the ensuing kickoff , safety Tyrone Williams intercepted a pass from Collins on the Packers 38 - yard line . Favre ' s completions to Andre Rison and Freeman for gains of 23 and 25 yards moved the ball into field goal range , and Jacke ' s 31 - yard field goal finished the drive , giving Green Bay a 17 - 10 halftime lead . On the first drive of the second half , Green Bay moved the ball 73 yards in 11 plays and scored with another Jacke field goal . The Panthers managed to respond with an 11 - play , 73 - yard drive of their own and score with Kasay ' s second field goal , which cut their deficit to 7 points . But Green Bay stormed right back with a 74 - yard touchdown drive , featuring a 66 - yard reception by Levens . On the next play , Bennett ' s 4 - yard touchdown run gave the Packers a 27 - 13 lead with two minutes left in the third quarter . In the fourth quarter , Jacke ' s third field goal put the game out of reach .