The Raiders travel to Bank of America Stadium to take on the Panthers in Week 16 of the 2012 season. The two teams first met in 1997 and have only played four times, each winning two match ups.
Week 16 – Sunday, December 23 | Bank of America Stadium | 10:00 a.m. PT | CBS
Coach
Ron Rivera enters his second season as head coach of the Carolina Panthers. In 2011, the Panthers finished with a 6-10 record, improving on the Panthers 2-14 season in 2010. Prior to his position with Carolina, Rivera was the defensive coordinator for the San Diego Chargers (2008-10) and the linebackers coach (2007-08). He served as the defensive coordinator with the Chicago Bears from 2004-2008 and the linebackers coach with the Philadelphia Eagles from 1999-2003. He started his NFL coaching career in 1997 as defensive quality control with the Bears. Rivera played college football at University of California and played nine seasons in the NFL, all with Chicago.
Series History
The Raiders and Panthers last saw each other in 2008 in Oakland. The Raiders lost 17-6 despite 98 total yards of offense for RB Justin Fargas. P Shane Lechler was forced to punt 11 times.
The Raiders traveled to North Carolina for Week 9 of the 2004 season and came away with a 27-24 victory. RB Tyrone Wheatley rushed for two TDs, RB Amos Zereoue added a TD and K Sebastian Janikowski kicked two field goals. DT Tommy Kelly recorded three tackles, a sack and a forced fumble.
[The Silver and Black scored 52 points against the Panthers in their 2000 Week 17 match up in Oakland, winning 52-9. QB Rich Gannon threw for 230 yards and five touchdowns, two to TE Rickey Dudley, one to WR Tim Brown and two to TE Jeremy Brigham. DB Eric Allen intercepted a pass and returned it 37 yards for a touchdown.
The two teams first met in Carolina on November 2, 1997. The Panthers beat the Raiders 38-14 at Ericcson Stadium. QB Jeff George three for 304 yards and two TDs. RB Napoleon Kaufman caught seven passes for 70 yards and a TD and WR James Jett added a TD. WR Desmond Howard returned four kickoffs for a total of 101 yards.
Story Lines
Panthers assistant special teams coach Richard Rodgers participated in the NFL's Minority Internship Program with the Raiders during training camp in 1996.
SS Tyvon Branch played at UConn with Panthers CB Darius Butler.
TE Brandon Myers will face former Iowa teammate S Charles Godfrey.
T Joe Barksdale and S Curtis Taylor played at LSU with WR Brandon LaFell.
The Raiders will face their 2010 4th round draft pick T Bruce Campbell, who was traded to the Panthers in exchange for RB Mike Goodson.
QB Terrelle Pryor and CB Chimdi Chekwa will see former Ohio State teammate G Bryant Browning.
LB Aaron Curry played at Wake Forest with Panthers DE Jyles Tucker.
S Aaron Henry played at Wisconsin with Panthers P Brad Nortman.
The Raiders traded WR Louis Murphy to the Panthers earlier this week.
| Panthers 2012 Draft Class | |||
| Round | Pos | Name | School |
| 1 | LB | Luke Kuechly | Boston College |
| 2 | T | Amini Silatolu | Midwestern St |
| 4 | DE | Frank Alexander | Oklahoma |
| 4 | WR | Joe Adams | Arkansas |
| 5 | CB | Josh Norman | Coastal Carolina |
| 6 | P | Brad Nortman | Wisconsin |
| 7 | FS | D.J. Campbell | California |
Panthers Key Acquisitions S Haruki Nakamura (Ravens), RB Mike Tolbert (Chargers), G Mike Pollak (Colts), LB Kenny Onatolu (Vikings), OL Bruce Campbell (Traded from Raiders), S Reggie Smith (49ers)
Editor's note: We hope you enjoyed the series, thanks for reading!
