For the 2016 NFL season, there are going to be a lot of Seattle Seahawks rumors about the salary cap, free agency, and the upcoming NFL Draft. They beat the Seattle Seahawks in uptown Charlotte on Sunday 31-24. Here is a look at the Panthers team grades.
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Against an elite offense that is the Arizona Cardinals next Sunday night you can bet a scoreless second half won’t be able to hold them off. The Panthers have been so dominant at times this season, but in key situations like that it is odd to see them not be able to succeed. The Seahawks’ bruising back was nicked up at times in 2015 and his play wasn’t the caliber that we’re used to – he averaged 3.8 yards per carry and only had three touchdowns on the year.
Carolina’s players, coaches and fans were feeling the pressure in the final 30 minutes as Seattle staged a relentless comeback. He was still very accurate in that second half; he just didn’t need to throw the ball as much. Greg Olsen led in receiving with 77 yards and one touchdown.
On the game’s first offensive snap, Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart, back from a three-game absence with a foot injury, burst right through the heart of the Seattle defense and sprinted 59 yards before Richard Sherman dragged him down from behind. They only gave up 88.4 yards per game on the ground, but as Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson showed, they can be susceptible against the pass. While Josh Norman has developed into one of the NFL’s best cornerbacks, injuries to Charles Tillman and Bene Benwikere has thinned the secondary.
Brady has long gotten the better of Manning, who is 5-11 lifetime against his counterpart, but 2-2 in the playoffs, including a win two years ago in this stadium.
The defense was dominating in the first half of play. The largest deficit overcome for a win in Seahawks’ history – they were down 21-0 on November 3, 2013, against Tampa Bay – was improbably within reach. On the second drive, Kawann Short sacked Wilson to stop that drive and Seattle ended up punting. Carolina’s Mario Addison ripped left tackle Russell Okung’s arm out of its shoulder socket on his way to the hit that forced Wilson’s second interception of the first half. He spread the ball around, with Jermaine Kearse catching 11 balls for 110 yards and two touchdowns, while Doug Baldwin hauled in eight passes and Tyler Lockett scored the other touchdown. The superstar running back return from abdominal surgery, but his presence was not felt during their final game of the season. Lynch finished with six carries for 20 yards.
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“You get a great team, you know a team that has confidence and believes, and you fight and you do everything you can to protect the possibility and now you’re 60 minutes away from a chance at the Super Bowl”, he said. “No matter what happened on the last play, you’ve got to go good, bad or ugly on the next play, and that’s basically what our football team did”. But then Panthers linebacker and co-captain Thomas Davis recovered Seattle’s onside kick, sealing the game. Both the Panthers and Cardinals have had varying levels of success throughout the years, and both are now built to win for years to come. While the numbers are far from staggering, it was Carolina’s ground game that did much of the damage.
