SAN FRANCISCO • Even as victory after victory piled up, everyone waited for them to lose and fall back to the pack. They couldn’t be this good. No way, no how.
But they lost only once the entire regular season, then bullied their way into the Super Bowl by trashing NFC West heavyweights Seattle and Arizona in the playoffs. Seats are starting to run low, but room remains on the Carolina Panthers bandwagon. Welcome aboard.
“We’ve kind of crashed the party,” Panthers coach Ron Rivera said. “We’re kind of new to the scene. Not a lot of people know who we are.