Field Gulls
A sluggish start, but a strong finish for the Seattle Seahawks (13-3), who are now on the doorstep of the NFC West title and the No. 1 seed. What was a 3-3 score at the half with the Carolina Panthers (8-8) turned into a 27-10 rout. Bryce Young was just 14/24 for 54 yards and an interception, although he did have Carolina’s only touchdown on a scramble. It was another outstanding showing from the Seahawks’ elite defense, who limited the Panthers to 139 total yards. Incidentally, Carolina would’ve won the NFC South had they beaten the Seahawks, but they’ll have another crack in Week 18 at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Seattle’s passing offense might not have been crisp, with Sam Darnold committing two turnovers, but Darnold did throw a touchdown to A.J. Barner and Zach Charbonnet rushed for over 100 yards and two touchdowns. Seattle’s ground game racked up 163 versus the Carolina front, which is a welcome sight to see. Not welcome is the concussion suffered by wide receiver/return specialist Rashid Shaheed, as well as a groin injury for Cody White.
We won’t know what the Seahawks will need to do in Week 18 until Week 17 concludes, but the bare minimum is that they’re still in the driver’s seat for home field throughout the playoffs. Their 13th win ties a franchise record, likewise a seventh road win.
The Seahawks started on defense first, giving up an 11-yard run to Rico Dowdle on the game’s opening play. A Ty Okada tackle for loss put the Panthers behind the sticks and they were eventually forced to punt. Seattle’s opening drive almost ended on the opening play, as Jaycee Horn nearly picked off a deflected Sam Darnold pass. Darnold converted a 3rd and 10 to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, but he also took a 21-yard intentional grounding penalty to kill the drive.
Carolina went three-and-out on its second possession, with Devon Witherspoon and Rico Dowdle making great open field tackles on Rico Dowdle and Chuba Hubbard, respectively.
Seattle opened up the scoring with a Jason Myers 47-yard field goal. It didn’t look like the Seahawks would get any points on the drive if not for an incredible 25-yard run on 3rd and 15 by Zach Charbonnet. By the end of the opening quarter, the Seahawks had 62 yards rushing. 3-0 Seahawks.
The defensive struggled continued for both teams, as the Seahawks punted just before midfield following a Mike Jackson break-up on a throw to David Moore. A concerning blow to the Seahawks came when Rashid Shaheed left the game with a concussion on an out of bounds hit by Mike Jackson.
Carolina benefited from an iffy pass interference penalty on Devon Witherspoon to keep its second quarter drive going. After converting 4th and 1 on a Mitchell Evans sneak, a 4th and 2 throw from Young to Tetairoa McMillan was incomplete on an all-out blitz. Carolina was offside so it wouldn’t have counted, but the field position...
