It wasn't exactly a volcanic eruption of offensive explosiveness — something the Seattle Seahawks have not had in what seems like months — that won the game, but it was a blowout win nonetheless, thanks to a few big offensive plays and a defense that stood their ground once again.
The Seahawks' defense struggled last week against the Los Angeles Rams' offense, but they had few problems against the lesser Carolina Panthers and Bryce Young, who threw for just 54 yards on 14 completions. Those measly numbers had much to do with Seattle's defense.
Sam Darnold continued his wildly consistent-of-late wildcard quarterback play, but a win is a win, right? That's what they say, anyway. Nevertheless, in the grand scheme of things, the Seahawks got what they needed to stay atop the NFC, which is why there were more winners than losers in Week 17.
Sam Darnold loses, Zach Charbonnet and DeMarcus Lawrence win in Seahawks' Week 17 win
Winner: DeMarcus Lawrence, DE
DeMarcus Lawrence is officially the best offseason pickup the Seahawks made over the summer, and he's been anything but washed up, at the end of his rope, or fading away.
The five-time Pro Bowler has consistently come up in massive moments for the Seahawks this season, and his sack and forced fumble against the Panthers were just another example of why he's such an integral piece to Seattle's vaunted defense. Lawrence also contributed six tackles, and he recovered that fumble, leading to a Panthers turnover.
Winner: Zach Charbonnet, RB
In Week 17's win over the Rams, it was the Seahawks' starting rusher, Kenneth Walker III, who had his best game of the season. A week later, however, it was his backup, Zach Charbonnet, who was Seattle's best offensive player in the early afternoon game.
Charbonnet tallied his first 100-yard rushing game of the season. The closest he's come to 100 yards this year was 83 yards against the Arizona Cardinals in early November. Against the Panthers, though, Charbonnet was on fire and produced two touchdowns and averaged 6.1 yards per carry. As the backup running back, it was likely Charbonnet's best game of his career, and it counted toward a win.
Winner: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR
The breakout wideout for the Seahawks has unfortunately lost the race to the wide receiver single-season yards record. That said, Smith-Njigba's 72 yards on Sunday did extend his lead over all NFL wideouts in yards this season, and he remains at the top.
With one game left remaining, JSN's chances of ending the year as the league's No. 1 receiver in yards are looking pretty good. Only Rams' receiver Puka Nacua could catch up. While 72 yards wasn't anywhere near JSN's top performances this season, he did have nine receptions on 12 targets, so efficiency was at its best.
Loser: Sam Darnold, QB
Yes, the Seahawks won, and yes, Darnold threw a touchdown, but it was anything but pretty, and a 77.2 passer rating (his fourth lowest of the season) helps prove it.
Right now, Darnold has shown more that he can lose Seattle games, more than he can win them. While he did step up against the Rams late in last week's win — and he was credited properly for it — he was well on his way to throwing the game away before the comeback.
Against the Panthers, Darnold continued to look like a wildcard with one interception ( a red zone one, at that), an exasperating lost fumble, and throwing for just 145 yards. Darnold should be thanking Charbonnet and the defense for picking up their end of the deal, because Darnold had a hard time doing the same.
Winner: The entire Seahawks defense showed they're not to be trifled with
Granted, it was Bryce Young whom the Seahawks defense was trying to bring down. While the third-year quarterback is having the best season of his career, and the Panthers are the best they've been since Cam Newton, the Panthers' offense is still not the greatest threat to any defense.
That said, the Seahawks don't pick their opponents, and the Panthers just happened to be their opponent this weekend, so they took care of business. The Seahawks' defense was especially solid against the run and held the Panthers' rushers to many short-yard gains.
They stepped up the most on 3rd- and 4th-and-1 on more than one occasion, not to mention the exceptional play of the likes of Nick Emmanwori, Leonard Williams, Julian Love, Byron Murphy II, and, of course, the defensive star of the day, Lawrence.