The 7 best things from the Panthers’ 2017 season

The Panthers suffered a heartbreaking exit from the playoffs. They came tantalizingly close against an NFC South rival, fighting their way back from a 21-6 deficit to almost steal the game at the end. But the Saints held them off and ended Carolina’s season with a 24-19 win.

That might overshadow just how fun this Panthers season actually was, but it shouldn’t. They bounced back from one of the most embarrassing Super Bowl hangovers in recent memory in 2016 to go 11-5 in the toughest conference in football this season. And they gave us a lot of enjoyable moments along the way.

Here are the best memories from the 2017 Panthers season.

Newton has an unparalleled combination of size, speed, and arm strength that makes him one of the hardest quarterbacks in the league to slow down. And after a down year in 2016, Newton was back this season in a big way.

The Dolphins experienced it on this very nice 69-yard run from Newton in the 45-21 beatdown they took from Carolina in Week 10.

Newton can beat defenses with his arm, too. But he’s at his most “just try and stop me” when he’s leaving defenders in the dust with ease.

He’s also cocky as hell, but it usually suits him — like when he talked trash to Clay Matthews in Week 15. Matthews yelled that the Panthers were going to run a wheel route based on the formation. Newton thought that was adorable.

“You’ve been watching film, huh? That’s cool, watch this,” Newton said.

Newton also gave us the best dunk of the 2017 season.

Well, it was the best dunk of the NFL season, anyway. Maybe he can give some pointers to Steph Curry.

Peppers finished the 2017 season with 11 sacks and two forced fumbles. He had one of each on this goofy play against the Eagles in Week 6.

His sack total ties him with Aaron Donald, his teammate Mario Addison, and Terrell Suggs for 11th in the NFL. Not bad for a guy who’s about to turn 38 later this month.

Peppers isn’t sure if he’ll be back on the field next season.

“I want to have some time to reflect and think about everything,” he said after the wild card loss. “Spend some time with my kids and see where my heart takes me.”

But his 2017 performance tells us he’s still got enough in the tank if he does decide to play next season.

Carolina grabbed the running back-slash-receiver with the eighth overall pick in 2017. He quietly set a new franchise high for the most receptions ever by a rookie when he finished with 80 for 651 yards and five touchdowns. That’s particularly impressive for a player who’s listed on the roster as a running back.

Face it — not many actual wide receivers can make this one-handed snag look this easy.

His explosiveness made him a big-play threat in the passing game no matter where he lined up.

He wasn’t as effective in the run game. But he did enough to get Panthers fans excited about McCaffrey when he puts it all together.

Last year, the Panthers missed Kuechly desperately when he was sidelined for six games with a concussion. He’s arguably the best linebacker in the league and you can see why on this play, which saved the Panthers from an upset loss to the New York Jets in Week 12.

The Panthers were trailing the Jets, 20-18, when Josh McCown was sacked by defensive end Wes Horton and fumbled in the process. Kuechly scooped it up and scored, averting a Panthers defeat.

Jonathan Stewart is 5’10 and 240 pounds. His build is vaguely reminiscent of a bowling ball with legs. He’s about the last guy you’d expect to see jumping straight over a defender. But he did.

The Dolphins’ Cordrea Tankersley is crouching over a little, but he’s mostly upright. And Stewart hurdles him so casually, like this is something he does every day.

Maybe we shouldn’t have been so surprised, because this wasn’t Stewart’s first hurdle. But it doesn’t make it any less impressive to see him flying over a guy who’s three inches taller than Stewart.

OK, this might not have been fun for Stewart. And it actually doesn’t look that fun for Brown. But it is hilarious.

Kudos to both Stewart and Brown, who were a shining example of sportsmanship after this unfortunate, but fun, butt mishap.

Speaking of butts, 2017 was the Year of the Butt in the NFL. Panthers wide receiver Damiere Byrd contributed to that with this touchdown against the Green Bay Packers in Week 15.

The catch was ruled incomplete, but Ron Rivera wisely challenged. The ruling was overturned on review, because Byrd’s left butt cheek hits in bounds before the rest of his body lands. Now we know that one butt cheek = two feet.

Byrd had the best name for his catch: “butt drag swag.”

The Panthers couldn’t avoid Sunday’s loss to the Saints despite a solid late-game effort. But fans will be able to look back at this season fondly — especially the butt-related parts.