The Carolina Panthers at the Seattle Seahawks is a matchup you don’t often get to see in the divisional round of the playoffs. It will pit a seven-win team against an eleven-win team in a game that could get out of hand when all is said and done. The Panthers are a little dinged up while the Seahawks are coming off their bye week and the healthiest they’ve been all season.
The biggest challenge for the Panthers is going to be fighting the crowd in Seattle. It’s extremely difficult to play there it will take the Panthers’ offense everything they have to have any kind of success. The weather is likely going to be in the low 40s Saturday night but there’s a chance of rain. The rain will certainly favor the Seahawks in this matchup.
Stylistically these teams are very similar. They’re both teams who prefer to run the ball and their passing game relies on the quarterbacks being able to escape pressure and creating plays. On defense both teams know how to get after the quarterback and stop the run. The biggest difference in this one is going to be the secondaries. The Seahawks’ secondary is the best in the NFL while the Panthers’ has been about average this season.
What might play the biggest factor in this game is the fact that the Seahawks are almost completely healthy while the Panthers are a little dinged up. One of the big injuries is to the Panthers’ defensive tackle Star Lotulelei. Lotulelei broke his foot against the Cardinals and won’t be available this Saturday night. He is a very integral part to the Panthers’ ability to stop the run and will certainly be missed when they’re trying to tackle Marshawn Lynch without him. I would also add Panthers quarterback Cam Newton to the list of dinged up players due to his car accident a few weeks ago but that has seemed to help his play on the field. In the seven weeks before the crash, Newton had a PFF grade of -6.1. In the three games since he’s come back from an injury sustained in the crash he has a PFF grade of 6.3.
This game is likely going to be a slugfest. I don’t think there’s going to be a great deal of big, explosive plays in this one. Instead I imagine a lot of five-yard, bruising runs from the likes of Marshawn Lynch, Jonathan Stewart, and DeAngelo Williams. When all is said and done the team with the fewest turnovers is going to win this one and I think that’s going to be Seattle. Once they get rolling at home it’s very hard for anyone to stop them. This game is going to be a double digit win by the Seahawks.