Seattle Seahawks vs Carolina Panthers Final Grades
By Paul Novak
9. 87. 13. 36. Final
The Seattle Seahawks avoided their third loss in as many games by narrowly beating the Carolina Panthers and simultaneously brought many Seahawks fans off the ledge.
Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Hawks fans haven’t experienced back-to-back losses since Week 7 and 8 of the 2012 season and you could sense that the apocalypse was near after their home loss to the Cowboys was followed by another defeat, this time at the hands of the division bottom-dweller St. Louis Rams. What would the citizens of Seattle do had Russell Wilson not led a fourth quarter 80-yard game winning drive against the Panthers?
There would have been anarchy not seen since the 1999 WTO riots turned downtown Seattle into a miniature warzone. As a kid I walked through downtown to get to the bus stop every morning to go to school and I saw the city with a Martial Law atmosphere. I also deployed to Iraq six years later and witnessed something similar. Comparing the two events is pretty stupid but, my point is that things could get really ugly if the Seahawks were to go on a losing streak.
Luckily the defense turned in one of their finest performances of the season and the offense did just enough to squeak out of Bank of America Stadium with a narrow victory for the third year straight. Panthers fans have to be pissed.
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Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Quarterbacks
Russell Wilson had a below average day when you look at the overall numbers. 199 passing yards to go with only 1 TD and 1 INT are pretty mediocre in today’s pass-happy league. It’s safe to say that if you started Wilson on your fantasy team (I did, benched Tom Brady with 5 TD’s) you weren’t too happy with his performance.
However, the Seahawks would not have won had it not been for Wilson’s poise and uncanny ability to flip a switch and take over a game with time expiring. Seattle’s QB ran 9 plays for 80 yards and hooked up with TE Luke Willson on what would be a game-winning 23-yard TD pass. The drive took less than four minutes.
Add in the 35 yards rushing that came mostly on the final drive and Wilson’s passing stats can be somewhat forgiven. Ultimately, Wilson is God’s gift to Seattle football. Now only if he were black enough.
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Seattle Passing |
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | SACKS | QBR | RTG | |
| R. Wilson | 20/32 | 199 | 6.2 | 1 | 1 | 1-8 | 64.7 | 77.5 |
| Team | 20/32 | 191 | 6.2 | 1 | 1 | 1-8 | — | — |
Grade: B (Nothing going until GW drive, must improve consistency)