In a customary malaprop, Yogi Berra once famously said, "It's like deja vu all over again." The mistake-prone Seattle Seahawks could relate to both the error and the sentiment Sunday afternoon at Bank of America Stadium.

Quarterback Russell Wilson threw for 199 yards and connected with tight end Luke Willson in the final minute for the game's only touchdown as the visiting Seattle Seahawks outlasted the Carolina Panthers 13-9 in a key NFC matchup. The win lifted the Seahawks into a tie with the San Francisco 49ers for second place in the NFC west, two games behind the high-flying Arizona Cardinals.

"He truly is an extraordinary player in the fourth quarter," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said of Wilson. "He finds a way to make the play that we need to make."

A Tale of Two Halves

Although the Panthers dominated time of possession in the first half, a recurring theme was not capitalizing on numerous golden opportunities.

Carolina marched down the field on their first three possessions, only to stall inside the Seattle 15 yard line each time. The first two drives resulted in Graham Gano field goals of 31 and 26 yards; the third ended up being a Cam Newton fumble of a handoff to Jonathan Stewart, recovered by the Seahawks' Cliff Avril at the 17 yard line.

The Avril fumble recovery was the high point of a strong game by the defensive end, now in his seventh year in the NFL. Avril led the non-secondary defensive players with four tackles, recorded a hit on Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, and recovered the fumble, one of two turnovers by Carolina. 

After taking a 6-0 lead early in the second quarter, the Panthers were kept off the scoreboard for the remainder of the half. Meanwhile, the Seahawks had their own troubles, punctuated by a sure touchdown pass glancing off the hands of Marshawn Lynch at the goal line and into the arms of Carolina cornerback Josh Norman, who returned it 27 yards to end the threat. For the game, Lynch caught one pass and rushed for 62 yards on 14 carries.

The only Seattle score was a 58-yard field goal by sure-footed Steven Hauschka midway through the second quarter. At halftime, the Panthers clung to a fragile 6-3 lead despite outgaining the Seahawks 167-107 and leading in time of possession 19:06-10:54.

The Tables Turn in the Third Quarter

The Seahawks made several fundamental adjustments at halftime, generating immediate results in the third quarter.

Pete Carroll's squad managed an offensive rhythm that was sorely lacking in the first half. Seattle nearly matched its entire first half output in the quarter, gaining 89 yards and tying the game on a 29-yard Hauschka field goal at the 7:13 mark. By contrast, Carolina gained only 54 yards and held the ball for just 6:31.

Both teams turned the ball over once in the quarter. Third-string center Stephen Schilling botched a snap that resulted in a fumble recovery by Mario Addison, and Cam Newton threw an ill-advised shovel pass that was intercepted by defensive back Marcus Burley.

The Seahawks Tighten the Screws in the Fourth Quarter

Having grabbed the momentum, Seattle turned up the heat in the fourth quarter. Early on, Wilson missed a wide open Cooper Helfet for a sure touchdown, and later in the frame the Seahawks allowed a nine play, 64-yard drive that resulted in a 46-yard Gano field goal for the 9-6 lead. However, the Seahawks marched 80 yards on their next possession, with Wilson completing 4 out of 4 passes for 53 yards and scrambling for 21 more.

With just 47 seconds left on the clock, Wilson found tight end Luke Willson down the middle for the 23-yard touchdown completion, putting the Seahawks on top for the first time in the game, 13-9. "We weren’t thinking about kicking the ball and waiting it out or anything like that," explained Carroll. "We were going to try to see if we could find a way to win. It was a great job. A great call on the sidelines for the winning touchdown and a great execution by Russell to make that play and get the score."

The Panthers desperate last possession went absolutely nowhere. Starting on his own 23 with 42 seconds left in the game, Newton underthrew Jonathan Stewart, and after a false start penalty, was sacked twice in a row by Seattle linebacker Bruce Irvin. On fourth down and a mile to go, Newton once again could not connect with Stewart, turning the ball over on downs and ending the game.

The final drive engineered by Russell Wilson represented the 12th time in his career that he has brought the Seahawks back to win a game in the fourth quarter.

Pete Carroll Postgame Quotes

After the game, Carroll said about the victory, "Really good tough win today. Really happy for everybody. Hard fought game. Had to wait it out, be patient, keep just clawing and scratching, but when it came down to the pitch of it both sides had to get it done."

On the media reports of the Percy Harvin controversy and problems in the locker room, he dismissed both as non-issues. "Our guys don’t care about what’s being said. We’ve been prepared all year that there would be stuff like this, there would be controversy, there would be storylines that would try to get in between us. We’re fine."

Seattle travels back home to play the struggling Oakland Raiders, while Carolina squares off against the New Orleans Saints in a key divisional battle this Thursday night.

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About the author
Walter McLaughlin
I am a 50 year old freelance writer and commercial banker living in the Seattle area. I have suffered through decades of Seattle sports futility, up until the Seahawks' dominating Super Bowl 48 victory. I am a lifelong Kings fan, as well as both a Mariners and Dodgers fan.