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The 2007 New England Patriots are universally acknowledged as the greatest NFL team to never win a Super Bowl. In fact, they were significantly better than a lot of teams that did win one.
Tom Brady, Randy Moss and the rest of the gang have been put at No. 1 on a new list from Pro Football Focus ranking the best squads to miss out on the Lombardi Trophy over the last 20 years. So, who's at No. 2?
Well, contributor Bradley Locker has Cam Newton and the 2015 Carolina Panthers right behind those nearly-undefeated Pats. Locker writes the following of those Panthers, who went 15-1 before falling short to the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50:
Newton, of course, had the best season of his career as a pro and rightfully gets a lot of the attention for this group—especially considering the lack of help he had at the skill positions outside of Olsen. His efforts helped him become the only Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year in franchise history.
However, it was Carolina's defense that really powered this train. An absolutely lethal front-seven was the heart of it, led by their phenomenal linebackers in Kuechly and Davis. Up front, the Panthers were also loaded with the criminally underrated Kawann Short and host of other seasoned veterans and got standout campaigns on the backend from the likes of Norman and safety Kurt Coleman.
Collectively, the Panthers ranked sixth in points allowed and yards allowed that season, and also finished sixth in sacks with 44. They were opportunistic as well, leading the league with an incredible 39 takeaways.
The problem was that they ran into the best defense in the sport that year. Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning was a shell of his former self at this point, but Denver ranked first in sacks (51), fourth in points allowed per game and first in yards allowed per game—even edging out Seattle's "Legion of Boom" in the last category.
Carolina's best hope for an upset was winning the turnover battle decisively, but instead they lost 4-2 in this department. If that dynamic had been reversed, there's a really good chance they would have come out on top.
Even still, this was a truly special team that deserves credit—even if their magical run didn't end with a ring.
Follow @ThePanthersWire on Twitter/X for more Panthers content.
This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: 2015 Panthers ranked 2nd-best team to not win Super Bowl
Continue reading...
Tom Brady, Randy Moss and the rest of the gang have been put at No. 1 on a new list from Pro Football Focus ranking the best squads to miss out on the Lombardi Trophy over the last 20 years. So, who's at No. 2?
Well, contributor Bradley Locker has Cam Newton and the 2015 Carolina Panthers right behind those nearly-undefeated Pats. Locker writes the following of those Panthers, who went 15-1 before falling short to the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50:
Newton, of course, had the best season of his career as a pro and rightfully gets a lot of the attention for this group—especially considering the lack of help he had at the skill positions outside of Olsen. His efforts helped him become the only Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year in franchise history.
However, it was Carolina's defense that really powered this train. An absolutely lethal front-seven was the heart of it, led by their phenomenal linebackers in Kuechly and Davis. Up front, the Panthers were also loaded with the criminally underrated Kawann Short and host of other seasoned veterans and got standout campaigns on the backend from the likes of Norman and safety Kurt Coleman.
Collectively, the Panthers ranked sixth in points allowed and yards allowed that season, and also finished sixth in sacks with 44. They were opportunistic as well, leading the league with an incredible 39 takeaways.
The problem was that they ran into the best defense in the sport that year. Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning was a shell of his former self at this point, but Denver ranked first in sacks (51), fourth in points allowed per game and first in yards allowed per game—even edging out Seattle's "Legion of Boom" in the last category.
Carolina's best hope for an upset was winning the turnover battle decisively, but instead they lost 4-2 in this department. If that dynamic had been reversed, there's a really good chance they would have come out on top.
Even still, this was a truly special team that deserves credit—even if their magical run didn't end with a ring.
Follow @ThePanthersWire on Twitter/X for more Panthers content.
This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: 2015 Panthers ranked 2nd-best team to not win Super Bowl
Continue reading...
