Seahawks welcome Panthers to Seattle and get dominated in Week 14
The Seahawks came into Week 14 needing a win in order to stay in playoff contention. Instead, a 30-24 loss to the Panthers knocks them out of the playoffs. At least, it does for all intents and purposes.
Seattle typically has a game every year where they look good leading into it and then get embarrassed at home. It seemed like this matchup against Carolina would be another one. Seattle trailed 17-0 in the second quarter.
To open the game, Seattle held Carolina to a field goal only for Geno Smith to throw an interception on the offense’s first play. Sam Darnold and the Panthers responded with a touchdown pass on the next play after that, giving the Panthers a 10-point lead within 21 seconds.
Seahawks lose a game to Panthers where the score was closer than the game
The lack of a run game for Seattle heavily impacted the results. With running backs Kenneth Walker III and DeeJay Dallas out, Seattle was relying on Travis Homer and Tony Jones Jr. to take over. The two only combined for a total of 10 carries and 28 yards. Neither player looked explosive and neither made much of an impact.
The pressure on Geno Smith to carry in the passing game nearly worked. He threw for 3 touchdowns and 264 yards on 21 attempts with 2 interceptions. But Geno was far from perfect and his interception on his first throw of the game may have been his worst throw all year.
The good and the bad were certainly present in this game for Seattle. It almost looked like the Seahawks would pull off the win even with Smith’s two interceptions but Seattle’s defense couldn’t put a stop to the Panther’s dominating 223 total rushing yards. Compare that to Seattle’s 46 total rushing yards, which helped the Panthers dominate time of possession 39:16 to 20:44, and you kind of get the story of how the game unfolded.
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Seattle really needed to win this game, especially with a tough schedule ahead of them facing off against the 49ers, Jets, Chiefs, and Rams. They remain second in the NFC West but the competition in the NFC playoff race is tight and there isn’t much room for a margin of error. On Thursday, the Seahawks play the 49ers which could put an end to any playoff hopes Seattle still has.