For an NFL team, winning the league’s biggest game, the Super Bowl, is the ultimate prize after a long, hard season; but what happens to the team that makes that long road to the Super Bowl and loses? Since 1999, eight teams have posted a negative record (less than eight wins) following a Super Bowl loss. This phenomena is called the Super Bowl Hangover, and it seems to be affecting this year’s Carolina Panthers. After going 15-1 on route to their second Super Bowl appearance in franchise history last year, the Panthers are off to a 1-5 start heading into their bye week.

 Fans of the franchise have different opinions on why the Panthers regressed this year. Junior TJ Hines believes, “The Panthers are struggling because Cam is trying to be a pocket passer when he is more dangerous as dual threat (run, pass) quarterback, and our top receiver, Kelvin Benjamin, is not being utilized enough.” On the contrary, sophomore Colin Lewis believes, “Our new defensive backs are really bad, and our defense as a whole is just not the same.” Many of the Carolina fanbase echo these thoughts, while also putting the majority of that blame on the Panthers’ general manager Dave Gettleman. They believe that he was complacent in terms of off season transactions, such as letting go of their best corner, and one of the league’s top defensive backs, Josh Norman. Also, instead of drafting a position of need, Gettleman drafted another defensive tackle, Carolina’s deepest position.

 Despite the slow start to the season, Carolina is still in the race for the NFC South crown, a division that they have won for the last three consecutive years. The Panthers are currently 1-5 and two and a half games behind the division leaders, the Atlanta Falcons. Fans following the Panthers believe that they can turn it around, as they still have most of the stars that were on the team last year, including reigning MVP Cam Newton, Greg Olsen, Luke Kuechly, Kawann Short, and Thomas Davis. Hopefully this experience can turn Carolina’s season around; otherwise it will end up being just another case of the Super Bowl Hangover.