The Philadelphia Eagles have engaged in battle with the Carolina Panthers since the black-and-blue-themed franchise entered the NFL landscape in 1995. Over the last 28 seasons, the Eagles and Panthers have battled every 2-3 years as the NFC East and the NFC South schedules collide. Philadelphia leads the all-time series, 8-4, over 12 regular season matchups. Despite the potential for playoff matchups as part of the same conference, Philly and Carolina have only met once in the postseason at the 2003 NFC Championship game.
Take a journey with me through some NFL history, from Carolina’s expansion draft in 1996 through the playoff contest and up to the present day as Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts gets ready to battle the Carolina Panthers for the second time in his NFL career.
Carolina Expansion Team & First Meeting
When the NFL introduced the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars to the league in the late 1990s, every team lost two players to help build up the incoming football squads at the 1995 NFL Expansion Draft. Philadelphia lost its first player to Jacksonville as defensive back Al Jackson was selected in the seventh round of the expansion draft. Carolina made its selection from the Philadelphia franchise in the 19th round by taking running back Brian O’Neal. The 6-foot, 233-pound running back from Penn State played 14 games for the Eagles in 1994. O’Neal never played an official snap for the Jaguars in the NFL following his selection in the expansion process.
In their first official NFL meeting, the Philadelphia Eagles allowed only field goals to the Carolina Panthers at Veteran’s Stadium in late October 1996. Philly running back Ricky Watters scored a 3-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, leading to a 20-9 victory. Quarterback Ty Detmer was the star of the day, on 23-of-38 passing for 342 yards, including a touchdown to Jason Dunn. The Panthers’ quarterback, Kerry Collins, was limited to 16 completions on 34 attempts for 248 yards on the day.
Eagles Narrowly Avoid Shutout in 1999
Three years later, the Panthers (3-5) earned their first win over the Eagles in a 33-7 rout. It was a tough season already for the 2-7 Eagles, but the beatdown at the hands of one of the NFL’s newest teams didn’t help. Carolina scored seven unanswered times to open a 33-0 advantage in the fourth quarter before Duce Staley’s late 14-yard touchdown run erased the shutout from the history books with a little more than 2 minutes remaining in the game.
Philly Earns First Road Win of Series in 2003
Several seasons later, the Eagles and the Panthers were on the rise when the two franchises linked up again in late November 2003. Philadelphia stormed out to a 10-3 halftime lead behind a 2-yard Duce Staley TD run, the only touchdown for either side in the first half of action. Philly extended its lead on a 48-yard David Akers field goal before Carolina’s Jake Delhomme connected with Steve Smith for a 24-yard TD to shorten the lead to 13-10 near the end of the third quarter. Philly scored 10 points in the first 3:04 of the fourth quarter, increasing its margin by two possessions at 22-10. Carolina would close the gap again, but it was too late. The Eagles hung on for the 25-16 road win at Ericsson Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Carolina Stuns Eagles Fans With Win at 2004 NFC Title Game
Andy Reid, Donovan McNabb, and the rest of the Philadelphia Eagles had extremely high expectations entering the 2003-04 postseason as the top seed in the NFC. McNabb had ousted NFL legend Brett Farve and the Green Bay Packers in a thrilling 20-17 overtime win in the 2003 NFC Divisional Round to set up their meeting with Carolina at home. The Panthers had to defend their playoff position as the #3 seed twice before facing Philly – first by hosting Dallas in a 29-10 win in the Wild Card playoff round before a 29-23 double-overtime win over the 2-seed St. Louis Rams in their Divisional round playoff fist fight.
A defensive battle ensued during the 2004 NFC Championship game that left Philly fans disappointed by the ending. Donovan McNabb was injured in the second quarter, leading to a struggling performance as Carolina’s defense intercepted three passes from the Syracuse-alum in a 14-3 loss for the Eagles. Philadelphia was 2-for-13 on third downs for a 15% success rate, as Carolina did enough to advance to the first Super Bowl in franchise history. The Panthers had their dreams dashed by Adam Vinatieri’s 41-yard field goal with four seconds remaining, resulting in a Patriots win, 32-29, at Super Bowl XXXVIII. It was the second Super Bowl win for New England in three seasons.
Philly Claims Next Three Games Against Carolina
Philadelphia (5-0) was matched up with Carolina (1-4) in October 2004, as the Panthers suffered a significant hangover following their failed Super Bowl appearance. Philly scored the first 23 points of the game in a 30-8 win, which included a 64-yard interception return for a touchdown by Eagles cornerback Lito Sheppard. He finished the season with five interceptions and returned two to the painted area for touchdowns in his 2004 Pro Bowl season. Sheppard used to be the answer to a trivia question as the last cornerback taken by the Eagles in the first round in over 20 years before Philly used its top selection to grab Quinyon Mitchell with the 22nd pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Sheppard was selected with the 26th pick in the 2002 NFL Draft.
It was a closer matchup between a pair of .500 football teams at The Linc in December 2006. Quarterback Jeff Garcia engineered the fourth-quarter comeback on a touchdown pass to Reggie Brown that tied the score at 24-24 before setting up David Akers from 25 yards out for the game-winning field goal in a 27-24 win to send the South Philly fans home happy.
The Eagles extended their winning streak to three games by beating Carolina 38-10 to open the 2009 season at Bank of America Stadium. Philadelphia’s defense returned a 2-yard fumble for a touchdown to establish an early second-quarter lead. DeSean Jackson added an 85-yard punt for a touchdown following the next possession to increase the lead to 17-7. The Eagles tacked on two more touchdowns, dropping 28 points on Carolina in the second quarter. McNabb scored on a three-yard run early in the third quarter for the final points in the Eagles 38-10 blowout win.
Panthers Snap Eagles Win Streak in 2012
Philadelphia welcomed Carolina for Monday Night Football on 11/26/2012 at Lincoln Financial Field. Philly entered halftime with a 15-14 advantage, but Cam Newton stole the spotlight with three scoring drives in the second half, leading the Panthers to a 30-22 win that snapped Philly’s three-game winning streak over the Panthers.
Two years later, Philadelphia thumped the Panthers 45-21 to deny Carolina’s attempt to string together consecutive wins. Darren Sproles scored an 8-yard rushing touchdown on his only credited rushing attempt on the day before adding a 65-yard punt return for a touchdown late in the first quarter. Mark Sanchez bested Cam Newton on the day as Philly opened up a 31-7 halftime advantage following a late Bradley Fletcher interception for a touchdown before halftime, and the Eagles never looked back.
Carolina did the same to Philadelphia in 2015 following a 27-16 win. Carolina entered the game unbeaten at 5-0 and took down a 3-3 Eagles squad. Carolina running back Mike Tolbert scored twice to keep the Panthers unblemished in the 2015 season.
Eagles Defeated Panthers on the Way to Super Bowl LII in 2017
Way before anyone in the Tri-State area knew about the Broad Street Party that would arrive in a few extremely cold months, Philadelphia’s Carson Wentz matched up against Carolina’s Cam Newton in a highly-anticipated QB battle, ending in a 28-23 Eagles win. Wentz completed 16-of-30 passes for 222 yards and 3 touchdowns, while the Eagles held Newton to 28-of-52 for 239 yards, a touchdown, and 3 interceptions.
Carolina lost to New Orleans, 31-26, in the 2017 NFC Wild Card Game. Philadelphia advanced to win their only Super Bowl Title in a 41-33 classic over New England at Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in February 2017.
Cam Newton and Carolina avenged their loss to the Eagles with a 21-17 road win in 2018 at Lincoln Financial Field. Philly took a 17-0 lead late in the third quarter on a Wentz to Dallas Goedert touchdown pass. Cam Newton and the Panthers scored three unanswered touchdowns, including two in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter, leaving the Philly crowd wondering how the regular season contest slipped away so quickly.
Eagles Find Late Win in Last Meeting with Carolina
The last time the Eagles and Panthers met on the gridiron was Week 5 of the NFL season in 2020. Philadelphia’s ugly first half led to a 15-6 deficit, which allowed Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts to shine. Hurts scored two touchdown runs to put the Eagles ahead 19-18 with under 2:30 to play in the game. Philly called some trickery on the successful two-point conversion on the DeVonta Smith to Jalen Hurts touchdown pass to end the scoring at 21-18.
That wraps up our look at the 13 NFL matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Carolina Panthers between 1996 and 2020. Philadelphia (10-2) will host Carolina (3-9) for a traditional 1 pm EST NFL kickoff at Lincoln Financial Field. Eagles running back Saquon Barkley can set a new franchise rushing record with an output above 108 yards, surpassing LeSean McCoy’s 2013 season of 1,607 yards.
Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
