The Panthers' opponents for the 2013 season have been determined with the conclusion of the 2012 regular season.
In addition to home and away games against NFC South foes Atlanta, New Orleans and Tampa Bay, Carolina will play all four teams from both the NFC West and AFC East. The Panthers' remaining two 2013 intraconference opponents are based on the 2012 standings. Carolina will host the New York Giants and play at Minnesota since all three teams finished second in their respective divisions.
Dates and times will be announced by the NFL in the spring. After that, an on-sale date for single-game tickets to Panthers home games for the 2013 season will be determined.
| HOME | AWAY |
| Atlanta Falcons (13-3) | Atlanta Falcons (13-3) |
| New Orleans Saints (7-9) | New Orleans Saints (7-9) |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-9) | Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-9) |
| St. Louis Rams (7-8-1) | Arizona Cardinals (5-11) |
| Seattle Seahawks (11-5) | San Francisco 49ers (11-4-1) |
| New England Patriots (12-4) | Buffalo Bills (6-10) |
| New York Jets (6-10) | Miami Dolphins (7-9) |
| New York Giants (9-7) | Minnesota Vikings (10-6) |
Following are a few notes on Carolina's 2013 opponents:
• The Panthers will play seven games against teams that finished the year with a .500 or better record, including six contests against opponents who made the playoffs during the 2012 campaign.
• Carolina has compiled a 14-6 regular season record versus the NFC West since division realignment in 2002.
• The Panthers will face the Cardinals for the 11th time in the last 13 years after only playing once in the franchise's first six seasons.
• This will be the 12th regular season meeting between Arizona and Carolina, making the Cardinals the Panthers' most common non-division opponent (excluding former NFC West mates St. Louis and San Francisco) in team history.
• The Panthers own a 7-13 all-time record against the AFC East.
• The Dolphins are the only NFL team Carolina has never beaten in the regular season, losing all four previous games to Miami.
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 teams based on the prior year's standings (two games).
Beginning in 2010, a change was made to how teams are paired in the schedule rotation to ensure that teams playing the AFC and NFC West divisions would not have to make two west coast trips (e.g. at San Francisco and at Seattle), while other teams in their division had none (e.g. at. St. Louis and at Arizona).
