The Detroit Lions don’t play the Carolina Panthers often, but have they ever won on the road in North Carolina?
The last time the Detroit Lions and Carolina Panthers played, it was effectively the end of an era for the Lions. An era no one was sad to see come to an end, but the end nonetheless. A 20-0 home loss to the Panthers in Week 11 of the 2020 season at Carolina set the stage, and a 41-25 loss to the Houston Texans at home on Thanksgiving Day sealed the deal.
Head coach Matt Patricia, and the general manager Bob Quinn, were fired after that loss to Houston.
The Lions will play the Panthers for the 11th time ever on Saturday, in an important game for both teams. The Lions will try to keep boosting their Wild Card odds, and winning the NFC South remains a possibility for the Panthers.
Have the Lions ever traveled to play the Panthers and come home with a win?
Have the Detroit Lions ever won at Carolina?
The Panthers have won seven of the 10 previous matchups against the Lions. Six of the 10 have been played in North Carolina.
The first ever Lions-Panthers matchup took place on Oct. 24, 1999.
It was a 24-9 win for the Lions. Charlie Batch was the quarterback for Detroit, with Steve Beuerlein the starting signal caller for Carolina.
The Lions’ leading rusher? Greg Hill, with 70 yards on 16 carries, while Michigan State product Sedrick Irvin had a rushing touchdown. Detroit’s leading receiver that day is a far more familiar name, as Johnnie Morton had five catches for 66 yards. David Sloan and Brian Stablein each caught one of Batch’s two touchdown passes.
Terry Fair had 130 kickoff return yards in the game for Detroit. Jason Hanson was of course the Lions’ kicker, and John Jett was the punter.
The Lions’ defense sacked Beuerlein four times in the game, with 1.5 by Robert Porcher, and Mark Carrier had an interception.
Games against the Panthers have been broadly rare for the Lions, an average of one more than every two seasons the Panthers have existed. But this week looks like a good opportunity to get a road win over Carolina, and end the streak that dates back to first matchup between the two teams.