Target set: Seattle Seahawks will face the Carolina Panthers on Saturday
By Keith Myers
Sep 8, 2013; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers center Ryan Kalil (67) prepares to hike the ball as Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Brandon Mebane (92) defends in the fourth quarter. The Seahawks defeated the Panthers 12-7 at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
With the wild-card round of the playoff for the NFL now complete, the Seattle Seahawks now know who they’ll be playing next week.
The Seattle Seahawks now know who they’ll be playing against in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs. The Carolina Panthers will take on Seattle this Saturday for the a spot in the NFC Championship Game.
Even with Carolina winning at home over Arizona on Saturday, the Seahawks didn’t know who they were going to play until after Sunday’s game between Dallas and Detroit. The reason is because teams are re-seeded after the opening round.
As the No. 1 seed, the Seahawks play the lowest seed of the remaining teams. That means that if Detroit had beaten Dallas, then they’d be coming to Seattle instead of Carolina. As it is, Dallas must travel to Green Bay, and the Seahawks will host the Panthers.
Other than perhaps a rematch with the inept Ryan Lindley and the Cardinals, this is probably the best result Seattle could have hoped for. Carolina does not appear to be better than Detroit in any way, so this presents Seattle with the easiest road to the NFC Championship Game.
This set of results also ensures that the two-toughest potential opponents in the NFC playoffs are being forced to play each other on Sunday. Whoever comes out of that game will likely have had a hard-fought win, and then will have to travel to Seattle the following game.
This is likely all academic though, since it is unlikely that any of the options for Seattle opponent next week (Arizona, Carolina, and Detroit) were going to pull off the upset.