After taking a hard earned week off, the Panthers get back to the grind with the Seattle Seahawks coming to town. While the Panthers were at home enjoying their bye, Pete Carroll's squad was engaged in a battle with the Minnesota Vikings in the bitter cold of TCF Bank Stadium. A last second miracle gave Seattle the victory, so now they travel to Charlotte, where the 15-1 Panthers await.
The Past
The last time these two teams faced, Seattle was able to crawl out to a 23-14 lead early in the 4th quarter thanks to some steady offense. Quarterback Russell Wilson finished the day 18/30 for 241 yards, a touchdown, and no interceptions. The touchdown came on a 40 yard bomb after a flea flicker. The play was diagnosed well by the Panthers secondary, but safety Kurt Coleman played the ball poorly in the air, allowing Ricardo Lockette to come down with what turned out to be his only touchdown on the season. Elsewhere, Wilson targeted tight end Jimmy Graham early and often. The former Saint frequently abused his old teammate Roman Harper in coverage and finished the day with 140 yards on 8 catches, easily his best game of the season.
The Seahawks were also rather effective on the ground, thanks in large part to the running ability of Wilson. Marshawn Lynch was only able to generate 54 yards with his 17 carries, but the team's output was bolstered by Wilson's 53 yards on just 8 carries.
The Present
Things will be different this time around. Jimmy Graham is out for the foreseeable future after a devastating knee injury. Marshawn Lynch is battling an abdomen injury and there's no telling what he's going to do. His more effective backup, Thomas Rawls, is also out for the season with a broken ankle.
Injuries aren't the only thing different about the Seahawks this time around. Since the last time these two teams met, the connection between Russell Wilson and Doug Baldwin ignited. After the Seahaws' loss to Arizona in week 10, Wilson racked up 1906 yards and 21 touchdowns to just a single interception to close out the regular season. Baldwin was responsible for 11 of those touchdowns during that streak. Star rookie returner Tyler Lockett also started to make an impact during that stretch. He was targeted 7 times in 4 out the Seahawks' last 5 regular season games, and made an impact with those targets. He totaled 318 receiving yards during that stretch and was able to break off a catch of at least 25 yards in four of those games.
That hot streak was cooled off by the frigid Minnesota air last week. In the wild card round, Wilson connected on just half of his 26 passes for 142 yards. Baldwin was limited to just 42 yards on 5 catches, though he was the recipient of Wilson's lone touchdown pass. Lockett was only able to reel in 1 of his 5 targets, and that was on a busted play after a bad snap.
The weather played a major role, but Seattle's offense proved beatable for the second time in three weeks.
The Panthers
On the Panthers side of the spectrum, much has changed since that week 5 contest. Charles Johnson is allegedly back, though he's failed to record a sack and has only mustered 7 tackles since his return on Thanksgiving day. He's getting pressure at times, but it'd be nice to see him do something noteworthy in the box score. Jared Allen is also back after missing the first meeting due to injury. Those two will be starting on the ends and could be the most important part of the Panthers defense on Sunday. To date, Panthers defensive ends have only registered 17.5 sacks with the bulk of those coming from Mario Addison and Kony Ealy. With the elusive Russell Wilson under center, it will be vital that the defensive ends keep contain and force Wilson to step into the interior push of Star Lotulelei and 2nd Team All Pro Kawann Short.
Perhaps the biggest difference between this incarnation of the Panthers and the one we saw in the first meeting with the Seahwaks is in the secondary. Josh Norman is still Josh Norman and the safeties are playing essentially the same way they have been all season. But things change drastically after that. The injuries to Charles Tillman and Bene Benwikere have forced the Panthers to turn to Cortland Finnegan and Robert McClain. Both have come off their couches and done well with their opportunities. McClain saw his first action of the season in week 17 and made a splash, finishing with 7 tackles and an interception. He can expect to see plenty of work again this week, as the Seahawks will likely test the new acquisition early and often.
Overall Outlook
We've seen the Panthers beat the Seahawks already this season. Both teams have undergone some transformations since then, but the same keys to victory are still there for the defense: Keep Wilson contained, cover Doug Baldwin, and limit the run game. If the Panthers defense can do those things, they have a very good chance of moving one step closer to the Super Bowl.