2002 Carolina Panthers season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 Carolina Panthers 2002 7–9 4th NFC South Jerry Richardson Marty Hurney John Fox Ericsson Stadium Did not qualify DT Kris JenkinsP Todd Sauerbrun DT Kris Jenkins (1st team)P Todd Sauerbrun (1st team) Panthers seasons The 2002 season was the Carolina Panthers' eighth in the National Football League and their first under head coach John Fox. They tried to improve upon their 1–15 record in 2001, and make it to the playoffs for the second time in franchise history. After moving from the NFC West to the more geographically accurate NFC South, they improved by six games to finish 7–9, but were still five games behind the division champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and failed to make the playoffs. Their Week 12, 41–0 loss against the Atlanta Falcons was the Panthers' last shutout for 21 years. Offseason Signings Departures DE Shane Burton (Jets) WR Donald Hayes (Patriots) CB Terry Cousin (Dolphins) FB Chris Hetherington (Rams) LB Mark Fields (Rams) DE Jay Williams (Dolphins) NFL draft 2002 NFL draft The 2002 NFL draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 15 and April 16, 2002. The Panthers selected nine players in seven rounds. Despite having the worst record in the league the previous season, the Panthers picked 2nd overall due to the Houston Texans picking first overall in their inaugural draft, as is tradition (under NFL rules) with expansion teams. 2002 NFL draft 2002 Carolina Panthers 1 2 Julius Peppers DE North Carolina yes yes yes 2 34 DeShaun Foster RB UCLA yes 3 73 Will Witherspoon LB Georgia yes 4 100 Dante Wesley CB Arkansas-Pine Bluff yes 5 137 Randy Fasani QB Stanford yes 5 145 Kyle Johnson FB Syracuse 6 174 Keith Heinrich TE Sam Houston State yes 7 213 Pete Campion G North Dakota State 7 258 Brad Franklin CB Louisiana-Lafayette Undrafted free agents + 2002 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeKen AmatoLinebackerMontana StateNathan BlackWide receiverNorthwestern StateEric BrackinsLinebackerMichiganBen ColemanDefensive tackleFlorida A&MLonnie FordDefensive endUSCGuilian GaryWide receiverMarylandBilly Dee GreenwoodSafetyNorth CarolinaTerrell HarrisWide receiverTulaneMark InkrottTight endFindlayShannon Money GuardArkansasAries MonroeLinebackerAlabamaTavarreus PoundsLinebackerAuburnKemp RasmussenDefensive endIndianaDarian TateDefensive tackleWalshRyan TolhurstWide receiverRichmond Personnel Staff 2002 Carolina Panthers Owner/founder – Jerry Richardson President – Mark Richardson General manager – Marty Hurney Director of player personnel – Jack Bushofsky Head coach – John Fox Offensive coordinator – Dan Henning Running backs – Jim Skipper Wide receivers – Richard Williamson Tight ends – Don Breaux Offensive line – Paul Boudreau Offensive assistant/quarterbacks – Mike McCoy Defensive coordinator – Jack Del Rio Defensive line – Mike Trgovac Linebackers – Sam Mills Secondary – Rod Perry Defensive assistant – Alvin Reynolds Defensive assistant – Sal Sunseri Assistant head coach/special teams – Scott O'Brien Assistant special teams coordinator/assistant strength and conditioning – Darrin Simmons Strength and conditioning – Jerry Simmons Assistant Coaches http://www.panthers.com/team/history/assistant-coaches.html Panthers.com https://web.archive.org/web/20130115220107/http://www.panthers.com/team/history/assistant-coaches.html January 15, 2013 January 3, 2014 Roster 2002 Carolina Panthers 53 14 5 12 Randy Fasani y  9 Rodney Peete 16 Chris Weinke 22 Dee Brown American football KR 37 Nick Goings 42 Skip Hicks 45 Brad Hoover FB 33 Joe Montgomery 32 Rod Smart 83 Nathan Black y 82 Isaac Byrd KR/PR 88 Karl Hankton 87 Muhsin Muhammad 89 Steve Smith Sr. KR/PR 49 Shawn Draper 86 Kris Mangum 85 Wesley Walls 84 Jermaine Wiggins 65 Kevin Donnalley G 74 Derrick Fletcher G/T 78 Jeno James G 60 Jeff Mitchell C 63 Jamar Nesbit G 76 Tutan Reyes G/T 75 Todd Steussie T 73 Melvin Tuten G/T 66 Louis Williams American football C 99 Brentson Buckner DT 98 Shane Burton DT 92 Mario Fatafehi DT 77 Kris Jenkins DT 97 Kemp Rasmussen y DE 93 Mike Rucker DE 91 Josh Taves DE 96 Al Wallace DE 52 Brian Allen linebacker OLB 58 Mark Fields linebacker OLB 50 Brad Jackson OLB 52 Kory Minor OLB 53 Hannibal Navies OLB 54 Will Witherspoon y MLB 35 Deke Cooper FS 21 Terry Cousin CB 36 Brad Franklin y CB 27 Deon Grant FS 23 Reggie Howard CB 25 Emmanuel McDaniel CB 30 Mike Minter SS 39 Damien Richardson American football SS 29 Dante Wesley y CB 11 Shayne Graham K 56 Jason Kyle LS 10 Todd Sauerbrun P 46 Rashard Anderson CB Susp. 24 Michael Bates American football RB IR 40 Jarrod Cooper S IR 28 Terry Fair CB IR 20 DeShaun Foster y RB IR 94 Sean Gilbert DT IR 80 Keith Heinrich y TE IR  4 John Kasay K IR 55 Dan Morgan LB IR 90 Julius Peppers y DE Susp. 71 Fernando Smith DE IR 26 Lamar Smith American football RB IR  3 Ryan Tolhurst American football y WR IR 57 Lester Towns LB IR 15 Rob Johnson wide receiver WR 41 Julian Jones S 59 Terrance Simmons DE 62 Tim Stuber American football G 18 Bashir Yamini WR 53 14 Regular season Schedule Under the NFL’s new scheduling formula put in place for this season, the Panthers would play two games each season against their NFC South division rivals. A schedule rotation would see them play the NFC North in full in 2002 and every three seasons subsequently, and the AFC North in 2002 and every four seasons subsequently. As the Panthers had the worst record in the NFL in 2001, they would also play the Arizona Cardinals, who had the worst 2001 record amongst teams in the reconstituted NFC West, and the Dallas Cowboys, who had the worst 2001 record amongst teams in the NFC East. Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 8 Baltimore Ravens W 10–7 1–0 Ericsson Stadium 70,386 2 September 15 Detroit Lions W 31–7 2–0 Ericsson Stadium 71,951 3 September 22 at Minnesota Vikings W 21–14 3–0 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 63,945 4 September 29 at Green Bay Packers L 14–17 3–1 Lambeau Field 63,329 5 October 6 Arizona Cardinals L 13–16 3–2 Ericsson Stadium 72,286 6 October 13 at Dallas Cowboys L 13–14 3–3 Texas Stadium 61,773 7 October 20 at Atlanta Falcons L 0–30 3–4 Georgia Dome 68,056 8 October 27 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 9–12 3–5 Ericsson Stadium 72,892 9 Bye 10 November 10 New Orleans Saints L 24–34 3–6 Ericsson Stadium 72,566 11 November 17 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 10–23 3–7 Raymond James Stadium 65,527 12 November 24 Atlanta Falcons L 0–41 3–8 Ericsson Stadium 72,533 13 December 1 at Cleveland Browns W 13–6 4–8 Cleveland Browns Stadium 72,718 14 December 8 Cincinnati Bengals W 52–31 5–8 Ericsson Stadium 66,799 15 December 15 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 14–30 5–9 Heinz Field 58,586 16 December 22 Chicago Bears W 24–14 6–9 Ericsson Stadium 72,602 17 December 29 at New Orleans Saints W 10–6 7–9 Louisiana Superdome 66,946 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Game summaries Week 2: vs. Detroit Lions Carolina Panthers 2002 2;text-align:center; autocollapse Week 2: Detroit Lions at Carolina Panthers Lions 0 0 7 0 Panthers 0 10 14 7 Ericsson Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina September 15, 2002 1:00 p.m. Cloudy, 72 F C FOX Kenny Albert, Tim Green, and Paul Butler Gerald Austin (34) 71,951 Recap, Game Book First quarter No scoring plays. Second quarter CAR – John Kasay 23-yard field goal, 3:27. Panthers 3–0. Drive: 5 plays, 19 yards, 2:09. CAR – Muhsin Muhammad 22-yard pass from Rodney Peete (John Kasay kick), 0:16. Panthers 10–0. Drive: 5 plays, 69 yards, 0:46. Third quarter DET – Mike McMahon 11-yard run (Jason Hanson kick), 8:21. Panthers 10–7. Drive: 5 plays, 76 yards, 3:10. CAR – Lamar Smith 3-yard run (John Kasay kick), 6:44. Panthers 17–7. Drive: 4 plays, 77 yards, 1:37. CAR – Mike Minter 40-yard interception return (John Kasay kick), 5:49. Panthers 24–7. Fourth quarter CAR – Lamar Smith 1-yard run (John Kasay kick), 9:43. Panthers 31–7. Drive: 10 plays, 71 yards, 5:44. Top passers DET – Mike McMahon – 9/23, 95 yards, INT CAR – Rodney Peete – 21/32, 310 yards, TD Top rushers DET – James Stewart – 12 rushes, 53 yards CAR – Lamar Smith – 20 rushes, 60 yards, 2 TD Top receivers DET – Scotty Anderson – 2 receptions, 31 yards CAR – Muhsin Muhammad – 8 receptions, 107 yards, TD Week 3: at Minnesota Vikings Carolina Panthers 2002 2;text-align:center; autocollapse Week 3: Carolina Panthers (2–0) at Minnesota Vikings (0–2) – Game summary September 22, 2002 12:00 p.m. Panthers 0 0 7 14 Vikings 0 7 0 7 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota 63,945 None (indoor stadium) Bernie Kukar (86) FOX Curt Menefee (play-by-play), Tim Ryan (color), Jeff Grayson (sideline) Recap, Game Book First quarter No scoring plays. Second quarter MIN – Michael Bennett 1-yard run (Gary Anderson kick), 12:58. Vikings 7–0. Drive: 4 plays, 17 yards, 2:02. Third quarter CAR – Steve Smith Sr. 14-yard pass from Rodney Peete (Jon Hilbert kick), 5:14. Tied 7–7. Drive: 2 plays, 28 yards, 0:47. Fourth quarter CAR – Lamar Smith 12-yard run (Jon Hilbert kick), 13:28. Panthers 14–7. Drive: 6 plays, 80 yards, 3:38. CAR – Lamar Smith 24-yard run (Jon Hilbert kick), 7:54. Panthers 21–7. Drive: 8 plays, 48 yards, 4:42. MIN – Chris Walsh 4-yard pass from Daunte Culpepper (Gary Anderson kick), 3:29. Panthers 21–14. Drive: 9 plays, 89 yards, 4:25. Top passers CAR – Rodney Peete – 20/30, 221 yards, TD, 2 INT MIN – Daunte Culpepper – 19/30, 191 yards, TD, 4 INT Top rushers CAR – Lamar Smith – 30 rushes, 154 yards, 2 TD MIN – Daunte Culpepper – 4 rushes, 32 yards Top receivers CAR – Steve Smith Sr. – 5 receptions, 81 yards, TD MIN – Moe Williams – 4 receptions, 66 yards Week 4: at Green Bay Packers Carolina Panthers 2002 2; text-align:center autocollapse Week 4: Carolina Panthers at Green Bay Packers September 29, 2002 1:00 p.m. Panthers 7 0 0 7 Packers 3 7 0 7 Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin 63,329 Overcast, 65 F C Bill Carollo (63) Fox Pat Summerall and Brian Baldinger Recap, Game Book First quarter GB – Ryan Longwell 30-yard field goal, 8:52. Packers 3–0. Drive: 11 plays, 73 yards, 5:07. CAR – Lamar Smith 3-yard run (Shayne Graham kick), 0:23. Panthers 7–3. Drive: 8 plays, 83 yards, 4:50. Second quarter GB – Donald Driver 31-yard pass from Bubba Franks (Ryan Longwell kick), 1:43. Packers 10–7. Drive: 6 plays, 70 yards, 2:04. Third quarter No scoring plays. Fourth quarter CAR – Lamar Smith 2-yard run (Shayne Graham kick), 12:55. Panthers 14–10. Drive: 5 plays, 53 yards, 2:51. GB – Donald Driver 22-yard pass from Brett Favre (Ryan Longwell kick), 4:10. Packers 17–14. Drive: 4 plays, 65 yards, 2:19. Top passers CAR – Rodney Peete – 10/24, 202 yards GB – Brett Favre – 18/32, 200 yards, TD, INT Top rushers CAR – Lamar Smith – 22 rushes, 66 yards, 2 TD GB – Ahman Green – 17 rushes, 73 yards Top receivers CAR – Steve Smith Sr. – 5 receptions, 116 yards GB – Donald Driver – 5 receptions, 97 yards, 2 TD Week 5: vs. Arizona Cardinals Carolina Panthers 2002 2;text-align:center; autocollapse Week 5: Arizona Cardinals (2–2) at Carolina Panthers (3–1) – Game summary October 6 1:00 p.m. PST/11:00 a.m. MST Cardinals 0 6 0 10 Panthers 0 7 6 0 Ericsson Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina 72,286 74 F C Bob McElwee FOX Curt Menefee, Tim Ryan Box Score First quarter No scoring plays Second quarter ARI – Bill Gramática 41-yard field goal, 8:44. Cardinals 3–0. CAR – Isaac Byrd 31-yard pass from Rodney Peete (Shayne Graham kick), 1:58. Panthers 7–3. ARI – Bill Gramática 28-yard field goal, 0:16. Panthers 7–6. Third quarter CAR – Shayne Graham 32-yard field goal, 8:52. Panthers 10–6. CAR – Shayne Graham 48-yard field goal, 1:29. Panthers 13–6. Fourth quarter ARI – Freddie Jones 15-yard pass from Jake Plummer (Bill Gramática kick), 2:38. Tied 13–13. ARI – Bill Gramática 50-yard field goal, 0:16. Cardinals 16–13. Top passers ARI – Jake Plummer – 18/40, 221 yards, TD, INT CAR – Rodney Peete – 20/34, 196 yards, TD, 2 INT Top rushers ARI – Damien Anderson – 23 rushes, 61 yards CAR – Lamar Smith – 18 rushes, 49 yards Top receivers ARI – Frank Sanders – 4 receptions, 70 yards CAR – Steve Smith Sr. – 5 receptions, 79 yards Team – pass passing yards – rush rushing yards – total total yards – to turnovers ARI – 221 – 91 – 312 – 1 CAR – 196 – 58 – 263 – 4 Week 16: vs. Chicago Bears Carolina Panthers 2002 2;text-align:center; autocollapse Week 16: Chicago Bears (4–10) at Carolina Panthers (5–9) – Game summary Bears 7 0 0 7 Panthers 0 21 0 3 Ericsson Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina December 22, 2002 1:00 pm Sunny, 56 F C FOX Pat Summerall, Brian Baldinger, and Dan Jiggetts Terry McAulay (77) 72,602 Recap, Game Book First quarter CHI – Dez White 76-yard pass from Chris Chandler (Paul Edinger kick), 14:13. Bears 7–0. Drive: 2 plays, 80 yards, 0:47. Second quarter CAR – Dee Brown 2-yard run (Shayne Graham kick), 12:12. Tied 7–7. Drive: 6 plays, 85 yards, 2:33. CAR – Dee Brown 1-yard run (Shayne Graham kick), 8:38. Panthers 14–7. Drive: 3 plays, 11 yards, 0:51. CAR – Muhsin Muhammad 3-yard pass from Rodney Peete (Shayne Graham kick), 3:52. Panthers 21–7. Drive: 4 plays, 41 yards, 1:54. Third quarter No scoring plays. Fourth quarter CHI – Dez White 5-yard pass from Henry Burris (Paul Edinger kick), 11:48. Panthers 21–14. Drive: 3 plays, 8 yards, 1:32. CAR – Shayne Graham 25-yard field goal, 5:16. Panthers 24–14. Drive: 4 plays, -1 yard, 2:08. Top passers CHI – Chris Chandler – 7/8, 113 yards, TD CAR – Rodney Peete – 18/35, 179 yards, TD Top rushers CHI – Leon Johnson – 16 rushes, 29 yards CAR – Dee Brown – 23 rushes, 55 yards, 2 TD Top receivers CHI – Dez White – 2 receptions, 81 yards, 2 TD CAR – Steve Smith Sr. – 4 receptions, 97 yards Standings Division Conference References Category:Carolina Panthers seasons Carolina Panthers Season, 2002 Carolina Category:2000s in Charlotte, North Carolina