With the conclusion of the 2010 regular season, Carolina's opponents for the 2011 season have been determined. The Panthers will play 10 games against teams that finished the year with a .500 or better record, including seven contests against opponents who made the playoffs during the 2010 campaign.
In addition to home and away games against NFC South foes Atlanta, New Orleans and Tampa Bay, the Panthers will play all four teams from both the NFC North and AFC South. Carolina's remaining two 2011 intraconference opponents are based on the 2010 standings. The Panthers will play at Arizona and host Washington since all three teams finished fourth in their respective divisions.
Dates and times will not be announced by the NFL until the spring. Following that, an on-sale date for single-game tickets to Panthers home games for the 2011 season will be determined.
| HOME | AWAY |
| Atlanta Falcons (13-3) | Atlanta Falcons (13-3) |
| New Orleans Saints (11-5) | New Orleans Saints (11-5) |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-6) | Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-6) |
| Green Bay Packers (10-6) | Chicago Bears (11-5) |
| Minnesota Vikings (6-10) | Detroit Lions (6-10) |
| Jacksonville Jaguars (8-8) | Houston Texans (6-10) |
| Tennessee Titans (6-10) | Indianapolis Colts (10-6) |
| Washington Redskins (6-10) | Arizona Cardinals (5-11) |
Next season will mark the first time that expansion rival Jacksonville has visited Bank of America Stadium since the 2003 regular season opener when the Panthers won in dramatic fashion, a victory that helped propel them on their way to Super Bowl XXXVIII.
Carolina also will travel to Reliant Stadium for the first time since that Super Bowl for a matchup against Houston. The Texans are one of just two teams, along with the Miami Dolphins, that the Panthers have never defeated.
The Panthers will face the Cardinals for the 10th time in the last 11 seasons - 2006 being the exception - and for the 12th time overall. Arizona is Carolina's most common non-division opponent (excluding former NFC West mates St. Louis and San Francisco) in team history.
The NFL's scheduling formula implemented in 2002 with realignment guarantees that all teams play each other on a regular, rotating basis. Under the formula, every team within a division plays 16 games as follows:
• Home and away games against its three division opponents (six games).
• The four teams from another division within its conference on a rotating three-year cycle (four games).
• The four teams from a division in the other conference on a rotating four-year cycle (four games).
• Two intraconference games on the prior year's standings (two games).
