Two of the hottest teams in football meet this Saturday night for the right to play in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday, January 18th. Fresh off of a rather convincing win on Wild Card Weekend over the Arizona Cardinals, the Carolina Panthers will travel to the Pacific Northwest to take on the NFC’s #1 seeded Seattle Seahawks.
The Panthers finished the regular season 7-8-1, winning the NFC South and hosting the Arizona Cardinals this past weekend. With an inspiring victory over the Cardinals and the Dallas Cowboys victory over the Detroit Lions, the Panthers became aware of their destination for the Divisional round.
The two teams have met eight times since Carolina joined the NFL, with the Seahawks holding a 6-2 advantage. Seattle has won the last four meetings, with the last three of those being played in Carolina. The teams met in Week 8 this past regular season with the Seahawks walking away with a 13-9 victory. The biggest game that these two franchises have faced off against one another in is the 2005/06 NFC Championship game on 1/22/06. The Seahawks held home field advantage throughout those playoffs and blew out the Panthers 34-14 to earn their first trip to the Super Bowl in franchise history.
Similar to the regular season Seahawks previews, let’s take a look at what to expect when each team is in possession of the football.
When the Seahawks are on offense
As was the case for much of the regular season, the Seahawks finished the season ranked first in rushing yards per game (172.6). Marshawn Lynch leads the ground game for the Seahawks and finished the season with 1,306 rushing yards. He has been complemented nicely by Russell Wilson’s scrambling ability, and more recently, by backup Running Backs Robert Turbin and Christine Michael.
The Panthers finished the season the middle of the pack, allowing 112 YPG on the ground (16th in the NFL) and 227.8 YPG in the air (11th). The defense is led by stud Linebackers Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis. (Interesting note: Thomas Davis is the only player on either roster to have competed in the aforementioned NFC Championship Game.) However, Carolina did receive bad news this week with news that Defensive Tackle Star Lotulelei will miss the remainder of the season due to injury.
Look for the Seahawks to pound the ball in an effort to wear down the Panthers over time and attack later in the game.
Advantage: Seahawks … but it won’t be pretty
When the Panthers are on offense
Jonathan Stewart has become a solid force in the Panthers running attack, including 123 yards on 24 rushing attempts last weekend against the Cardinals. Carolina is going to need that type of performance from Stewart in order to keep Saturday night’s game close and have a chance to steal the victory.
The Seahawks haven’t allowed a running back to rush for 100 yards since their Week 11 loss in Kansas City to the Jamaal Charles-led Chiefs. Relatively speaking, the Seahawks defense is expected to be healthy coming off the bye, with the one new loss being announced this past week was the season-ending injury to Jordan Hill. The back seven for Seattle has been downright frightening over the past month and a half and will challenge Cam Newton to try to test them down the field.
Advantage: Seahawks
Special Teams
The Seahawks hold an advantage here in their kicking game, particularly with Place kicker Steven Hauschka, who is more than familiar with kicking at CenturyLink. This may be the difference in the game and don’t be surprised if Hauschka’s right leg winds up being more productive than Panthers PK Graham Gano.
The Panthers finished 30th in the league in Special Teams DVOA ratings, behind the 19th ranked Seahawks. While Seattle’s kick return game has struggled mightily, their coverage game has an advantage over Carolina.
Advantage: Seahawks … slightly
Final Score Prediction: Seahawks 19, Panthers 6
During the Seahawks current six game winning streak, their opponent has only reached double digits once. The Panthers offense isn’t significantly better than any of those teams and with the added rest from the bye week, the Seahawks are likely coming out and flying around the field on defense.