Panthers at Seahawks
Despite losing four of its last five games, the Seattle Seahawks look to stay atop the mediocre NFC West on Sunday when they host the Carolina Panthers.
Seattle (5-6) is tied for first place with the St. Louis Rams and is still in contention for its fifth division title in seven years. The Panthers (1-10), owners of the league's worst record, could spark a turnaround for first-year coach Pete Carroll’s team.
The Seahawks are coming off a 42-24 home loss to Kansas City, a game in which the defense allowed season highs in points and yards (503), including 270 on the ground. Seattle has given up at least 487 yards in its last four losses.
After winning their first three home games, the Seahawks are trying to avoid losing three in a row there for the first time since a five-game slide in 2008.
Seattle is hoping for the return of leading receiver Mike Williams, who missed last week's loss to the Chiefs due to a foot strain.
Without the presence of the 6-foot-5 Williams, Kansas City held the Seahawks to 20 rushing yards. Wide receiver Ben Obomanu did his best to make up for Williams' absence last week, finishing with five catches for a career-high 159 yards.
Williams, whose 52 receptions are 25 more than his closest teammate, caught a few passes from Carroll in Wednesday's practice and did some running on the sidelines, but is questionable for the game against the Panthers.
Carolina, 0-5 on the road, couldn't avoid a fifth consecutive loss last week when John Kasay's 42-yard field goal attempt as time expired hit the left upright in a 24-23 loss at Cleveland. Panthers safety Sherrod Martin was hit with a $40,000 fine for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Cleveland tight end Evan Moore.
The Panthers lost their last seven games away from home in a 1-15 season in 2001.
Rookie quarterback Jimmy Clausen returned from a concussion last week, but dropped to 0-5 as a starter despite throwing for a career-best 195 yards.
The Panthers are last offensively in the NFL in points (12.7), passing yards (157.8) and total yards (259.2) per game, but have gained at least 300 yards in two of their last three contests.
Running back Jonathan Stewart, who attended high school in the state of Washington, rushed for 98 yards last week. When Stewart has at least 15 rushing attempts in a game, Carolina is 13-0. The Panthers placed DeAngelo Williams, the team's all-time leading rusher, on season-ending injured reserve in November.
The teams have split four all-time matchups with each team winning twice at home. Seattle defeated Carolina 34-14 in the NFC Championship game in 2006.