However, in their first-ever Super Bowl appearance, they were defeated 34 – 19, by the defending champion Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXIII.

The Panthers also became the first expansion team to beat the defending Super Bowl champions by defeating the San Francisco 49ers 13-7.

After defeating the defending Super Bowl champions, the Dallas Cowboys, they advanced to the NFC Championship, but fell 30-13 to the Packers, who went on to win the Super Bowl.

In just his second start, Newton threw for 432 yards against the defending Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers.

The Eagles would go on to defeat the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants in the Divisional round, only to lose to the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Championship Game.

In the first week of the 2010 NFL regular season, the Vikings played the defending Super Bowl champions, the New Orleans Saints.

The first game of the season was against the defending Super Bowl XLI champion Indianapolis Colts.

On January 11, 2009 the team defeated the defending Super Bowl Champions and the 2008 NFC East champion New York Giants 23 – 11 en route to their 5th NFC Championship Game in 8 years and 5th in the 10 years the Eagles have been coached by Andy Reid.

The Chargers defeated the defending Super Bowl III champion New York Jets 34 – 27 before a record San Diego Stadium crowd of 54, 042 on September 29, 1969.

The Packers, the defending Super Bowl I champions, posted a 9-4-1 record during the 1967 NFL season before defeating the Dallas Cowboys, 21-17, in the 1967 NFL Championship Game ( also popularly known as the Ice Bowl ).

But Dawson silenced the critics and led Kansas City to a strong finish in the playoffs, defeating the defending champion Jets in New York, 13-6 in the Divisional Playoffs, and defeating the Raiders 17-7 in the AFL Championship Game, thus essentially making the Chiefs the first wild card team to play in the Super Bowl.

Later, Miami shut out the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Colts, 21 – 0, in the AFC Championship Game, with safety Dick Anderson intercepting 3 passes from Colts quarterback Johnny Unitas and returning one of them for a 62-yard touchdown.

Dallas was also the defending Super Bowl XII champion, and finished the 1978 regular season with a 12-4 record, and posted playoff victories over the Atlanta Falcons and the Los Angeles Rams.

The Cowboys were eventually able to score two touchdowns in the final minutes of the game, but still ended up being the first defending champion to lose in the Super Bowl, and to date the only losing Super Bowl team to score 30 points or more.

The defending Super Bowl champions were once again led by quarterback Roger Staubach.

The Steelers were the defending Super Bowl XIII champions, and finished the 1979 regular season with a 12-4 record, and posted playoff victories over the Miami Dolphins and the Houston Oilers.

The Redskins entered the game as the defending Super Bowl XVII champions, and finished the 1983 regular season with a league-best 14-2 record, and led the league in the fewest rushing yards allowed.

The Redskins became the second defending champion to lose a Super Bowl ( their divisional rivals, the Dallas Cowboys, were the first, losing Super Bowl XIII after winning Super Bowl XII ).

But unlike Jacksonville, Carolina came into the contest as the NFC # 2 seed and had eliminated the defending Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys, 26 – 17.

The team started off 2 – 0, defeating the Dallas Cowboys earning the NFL's highest winning percentage on opening days at. 750 with a record of 9 – 3 ), and shutting out the defending champs Pittsburgh Steelers.

Two-time defending Super Bowl champions who failed to three-peat include the Green Bay Packers ( 1968 ), Miami Dolphins ( 1974 ), Pittsburgh Steelers ( twice: 1976, 1980 ), San Francisco 49ers ( 1990 ), Dallas Cowboys ( 1994 ), Denver Broncos ( 1999 ), and New England Patriots ( 2005 ).

The tone of the season was set in round two, when after a first round away loss to the Brisbane Broncos, the North Queensland Toyota Cowboys won their first home match, defeating defending premiers Canterbury Bulldogs with an emphatic 24-12 win.

The seasoned Green Bay Packers, defending champions of the 1965 season, were favored by a touchdown over the talented, but young Cowboys team, who had no players with championship experience and only one player over 30, linebacker Chuck Howley.

However, New York was blown out at home by the defending Super Bowl Champion Dallas Cowboys in Week 16 and then blew a fourth quarter lead and lost to the Bills, and needed a victory in Week 18 against a Houston team that was on a ten-game winning streak.

The Islanders finished the 1983 – 84 regular season tied atop the Prince of Wales Conference while successfully defending their Patrick Division title.

Although they finished January with 10 wins and 5 losses, they had already lost to the defending Champions San Antonio Spurs twice, twice to the Phoenix Suns, and in a nationally televised broadcast lost by 36 points to their eventual opponent in the 2006 NBA Finals the Dallas Mavericks.

* Luke Goosen-actor, three time defending champion of NEC Swedish Meatball Eating Competition, and 2011 World's Strongest Man participant ( finished 10th out of 10 contestants )

At the beginning, Lasker tried to attack but Schlechter had no difficulty defending, so that the first four games finished in draws.

In 2001, Matthews famously used the " Predator " quote " If it bleeds, we can kill it ," to inspire his team for its Round 10 game against Essendon, who sat atop the ladder, was the defending premier, and had lost only two of its previous thirty-four games ; Brisbane finished as 28-point victors.

Under Coach Billy Reay the team finished in third place in the AHL standings and played the defending champion Providence Reds in the opening round of the Calder Cup playoffs.

In 2008 he was defeated in the first round of the world championship for the first time in his career by defending champion John Higgins, and he finished ranked outside the top 16 for the second consecutive season.

Austria's best result came in 1954, when they lost the semifinal 6 – 1 to eventual champion Germany, but finished third after beating defending champion Uruguay 3 – 1.

Hasna Benhassi of Morocco and Jolanda Čeplak of Slovenia finished strongly, taking Silver and Bronze respectively, and beating defending champion, pre-race favourite and Holmes ' training partner, Maria de Lurdes Mutola of Mozambique, who finished fourth.

In 2011, the St. Andrew's men's rowing team finished second to Abingdon who broke the 20-year old course record in the final of the head-to-head, single-elimination Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup challenge, after beating two-time defending champion and British champion Eton College.

At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Galiazzo finished his ranking round as the defending champion with a total of 667 points, twelve points behind leader Juan René Serrano.

The following year, as defending champion, Raymer finished 25th ( out of 5, 619 entrants ) in the 2005 WSOP Main Event, earning him $ 304, 680.

Dōton ’ s project was interrupted when he died defending Toyotomi Hideyori in the ill-fated Siege of Osaka, but his cousins finished the canal in 1615.

Fairly finished the 1976 season with the three-time defending World Series champions, the Oakland Athletics.

As a rookie, Pierce quickly earned a place in the Revolution starting lineup with his tenacious defending, and finished the season second on the team in minutes played, having started in 29 of the team's 32 games.

The highest the club finished during this period was fifth in the 1993 – 94 and 1994 – 95 seasons and the lowest was 17th in the 1992 – 93 season – one of the lowest-placed finishes of a defending league champion in English football history.

After winning the Manitoba championship, Dutiaume would go on to the 2005 Tim Hortons Brier where he finished with a strong performance, finishing 2nd in the round-robin behind defending champion Randy Ferbey and his Alberta rink.

In the 2004 – 2005 season, the Bayi Rockets finished in third place in the South Division and defeated the Beijing Ducks in the quarter-finals, but lost in the semi-finals to the Guangdong Southern Tigers, the defending champions.

In the 2004 – 2005 season, the Jilin Northeast Tigers finished in fourth place in the North Division, but lost in the quarter-finals to the South Division's Guangdong Southern Tigers, the defending champions.

Kubica finished second after defending his position towards the end of the race against Räikkönen in a faster Ferrari ( his fastest race lap was 0. 6 seconds quicker than the Pole's )