Seahawks versus Panthers: Staff predictions show faith in Geno

The 7-5 Seahawks play the 4-8 Carolina Panthers in Week 14. Carolina has a strong run offense and Seattle doesn’t do well against that. What will happen on Sunday? Well, let us tell you what we think.

But first, a little preview. Carolina is not a team that can be overlooked. Yes, they are four games under .500 but they are also just two games out of first place in their division. The Panthers have five games left and that is plenty of time to potentially overtake the NFC South-leading Buccaneers. This is a 4-8 team with something to play for.

The Seahawks are just one game back of the NFC West-leading San Francisco 49ers but the 49ers just lost Jimmy Garoppolo for the year and are now on their third starting quarterback of the season. Maybe San Francisco’s defense is so good it will hold off all competitors. But Seattle could certainly catch them.

That’s the weird thing. Both Carolina and the Seahawks could still win their divisions in 2022. Or both could finish out of the playoffs. In Week 14, Seattle has to stop the Panthers running game and Seattle has struggled greatly against anyone running the ball against them lately. The Panthers must stop Geno Smith and the Seahawks’ offense and few teams have been able to do that this season.

Staff predictions for Seahawks versus Panthers Week 14

So it would appear the clear keys to this game for Seattle are stopping the run, which sounds simple enough and getting to around 27 points. The offense should be able to do that even if many of Seattle’s best running backs might miss the game. Oh, and Seattle needs to beat an NFC South for the first time this year; They are 0-3 so far in 2022. Here are our staff picks.

Todd Vandenberg: Seattle 37 Panthers 26

Jake Luppino: Seattle 24 Panthers 17

Andrew Bailie: Seattle 24 Panthers 20

Karley Sibert: Seattle 32 Panthers 16

Matt Holm: Seattle 27 Panthers 20

Max Downard: Seattle 31 Panthers 17

Lee Vowell: Seattle 27 Panthers 24