on to say that he was given a dietary supplement by a friend to help him fight off fatigue. The pills contained an ephedra substance that was banned by the NFL. Peppers said it was an honest mistake on his part and that he would be more cautious in the future. 2003 season In Peppers second season, he was part of a defensive line that also included Brentson Buckner, Kris Jenkins, and Mike Rucker. Together, the unit would be a key cog that would help the Panthers reach the Super Bowl. Peppers would finish the season with 37 solo tackles, 7 assisted tackles, 7 sacks, three forced fumbles, 3 passes defensed, 4 stuffs, and 1 blocked kick. In the wild card round playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys, Peppers would make a couple of extraordinary highlight reel plays. In the first quarter, Peppers would chase down Cowboys Receiver Joey Galloway who was one of the fastest players in NFL history, and run him out of bounds after a 28-yard gain. And then later in the fourth quarter as the Cowboys were trying to mount a comeback, Peppers would intercept Dallas Quarterback Quincy Carter and return it 34 yards to the Cowboys 11 yard line. Peppers recorded 1 tackle, 1 interception, and 1 pass defensed in the game. The Panthers won the game 29–10. In the divisional round against the St. Louis Rams, Peppers would again have a dominant performance by recording a sack, 2 passes defensed, and 4 tackles, one of which came on a shuffle pass in the second quarter to running back Marshall Faulk. The game would go into double overtime, as the Panthers defeated the Rams 29–23. The next week in the NFC Championship game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Peppers would record 2 tackles in helping to lead a dominant defensive performance for the Panthers as they held the Eagles to just 3 points. Panthers would win by a score of 14–3. The Panthers reached the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history and matched up against the New England Patriots, the game would be an instant classic as both teams went back and forth throughout the game. Peppers would record 2 tackles and pressure New England QB Tom Brady all throughout the game. On the first defensive snap of the game for the Panthers, Peppers stormed into the Patriots backfield with a speed rush