Which Panthers Team Was Closest to Winning a Super Bowl, 2003 or 2015?

The Carolina Panthers have been relatively successful for such a young team. Although they've fallen on hard times lately, in the first 21 seasons of their existence, they made the Super Bowl twice.

They ultimately fell short in both those contests, each one bringing about a different type of agonizing defeat. In each case, one could argue that the team was pretty close to winning a historic first title.

But which one was closest to putting the Panthers truly on top?

Were the 2003 or 2015 Panthers closer to winning the Super Bowl?

Carolina Panthers defensive back Terry Cousin (21) hits New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) as he releases the ball during Super Bowl XXXVIII | MPS-Imagn Images

In 2004, the Carolina Panthers came up against the vaunted New England Patriots as seven-point underdogs. They almost defied the odds. Had it not been for a kickoff out of bounds, they would've likely at least gone to overtime.

Instead, John Kasay's infamous kick set the Patriots up and they easily got into field goal range to nail the winning kick in the final seconds, escaping a major upset by way of a 32-29 final score.

In 2016, the Panthers were favored. Led by MVP Cam Newton, they were favored by as many as six points prior to kickoff before things went awry. The historic Denver Broncos defense was absolutely smothering.

The Panthers' defense played well, but in Peyton Manning's final game, the Broncos' defense throttled Newton en route to a surprising 24-10 defeat in what remains their most recent trip to the Super Bowl.

So which one was closest? Based on the score, the 2003 team was closest. They were at least going to go into overtime had it not been for Kasay's kick, and they were seemingly playing with house money and could've won.

However, overtime against Brady and the Pats in a big game was probably not a winnable situation for the Panthers. And if the Panthers and Patriots matched up in a seven-game series, the Panthers probably win one or two of those games, so they weren't all that close.

The 2015 Panthers, on the other hand, were defeated by two scores, and it never even felt like they had a shot at winning. Yet, I'd wager that they were absolutely closer to winning it all. Newton hadn't struggled like that (and was protected at least a little better) all season.

If those Panthers and Broncos played seven games, the Panthers definitely win most of them. They had the best offense in the league, and they had a good defense matched up against Peyton Manning with a noodle arm and zero mobility.

It was truly a perfect storm for the Panthers to lose, but that team was still probably closest because it was easily the best squad in franchise history (so far).

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