Seattle Steamrolls over Carolina to a 13th Win in Week 17

We have arrived at the first of the final two games of the season for Seattle. This time, the team headed to Charlotte, North Carolina. They faced off against the Carolina Panthers. As of now, Seattle has seven total players listed on their injury report for this week. Two of them are officially out. The other five are still active and participating on the field. Charles Cross and Coby Bryant were both inactive for Seattle’s roster. Cross is a tackle player for the team. Coby Bryant is a safety player for Seattle. Cross has been listed as out with a hamstring injury. Bryant has been listed as out with a knee injury. Both warmed the bench during this game in Carolina. Cross was replaced by second-string left tackle Josh Jones. Bryant was swapped out for Ty Okada.

​Carolina had Trevin Wallace and Tershawn Wharton out on their side of this week's report. So both teams weren’t exactly uneven in terms of injured players sitting on the sidelines for today’s game. Tetairoa McMillan had a questionable status going into the game on injury rest. McMillan is Carolina’s first-string wide receiver. Thankfully, he had a replacement ready. Brycen Tremayne went on the field in his place. Wharton had Bobby Brown to sub in for him.

First Quarter

Seattle won tails in the coin toss and deferred the ball to Carolina for the first half, starting on defense with the Panthers in possession of the ball to start on offense. JT Sanders got a right leg injury thanks to Rico Dowdle on the 11-yard first snap play of the game, so he moved to the sidelines. Nick Emmanwori helped prevent a first touchdown against Carolina during that play as well. First & 10 at the 18-yard line for Seattle, Ball tipped at the line of scrimmage, incomplete by Sam Darnold. Darnold picks up 16 yards on a fourth down and 14. There were still no touchdowns successfully for either team at this point in the game. Third down and five for Carolina at the 20-yard line, Seattle used the open field to swarm with tackles so far. Kenneth Walker plowed over a tackle at the 35-yard line. Zach Charbonnet made a huge rush down for 27 yards and two carries. Seattle made a 3-point kick and successfully completed it at the field goal thanks to Jason Myers. 65 total yards for Seattle as opposed to Carolina’s 18 yards. Rashid Shaheed was taken off the field for a concussion and was out for the rest of the game.

​Second Quarter

​Incomplete Pass made for Carolina, from Bryce Young to Dowdle. A nine-yard penalty on Devon Witherspoon, defensive pass interference. Three-yard pass from Dowdle up the middle on first down and 10. Seattle had an 11-yard run, eight-yard pass, back-to-back yard runs, and an incomplete pass, then a 35-yard punt. Seattle still held onto its three-point lead at this point in the game. Carolina had no opportunity to score any field goals or even touchdowns so far. Bryce Young with another incomplete shotgun pass to McMillan that got turned over. Seattle had a three-yard and two-yard run on the drive, which was immediately followed by a fumble on the play. Carolina scored a three-yard run from Dowdle and another incomplete pass from Young. A no-gain run into a 35-yard field goal from Ryan Fitzgerald, tying the game back up 3-3 between the Seahawks and Panthers. Charbonnet ran up the middle for four yards with two minutes left in the first half. Darnold passed short to the middle to Cooper Kupp, which ended up incomplete as the first half ended.

Third Quarter

​One yard run from Kenneth Walker after kickoff, Darnold throwing a shotgun pass to AJ Barner, short left pass to Charbonett. Charbonett pushed right end for 29 yards, incomplete pass from Darnold to Saubert. A pass from Darnold to Jaxon Smith-Njigba was intercepted by Carolina’s own Mike Jackson. DeMarcus Lawrence recovered on a reversed fumble that Carolina turned over during that play. Darnold passed short right to Smith-Njigba for seven yards, a short pass to AJ Barner for 16 yards. Charbonett made a left tackle, then moved up the middle for two yards to make a successful touchdown, and Jason Myers’s extra point punt was good to bring Seattle into the lead 10-3 with eight minutes left to go in the third quarter. Carolina had a seven-yard run right end into an incomplete pass from Young to Dowdle. Short right pass from Young, which was intercepted by Julian Love at 26 yards. Walker made a three-yard run, Charbonett right-tackled for a five-yard run, and a four-yard run. Darnold passed short right to Barner for another touchdown. This brought the score up to 17-3 with Seattle still in the lead, including yet another extra point from Myers on the kick. Young ran with a short middle pass to Michael Evans for five yards, and Dowdle right-guarded for a four-yard run not long after that. An incomplete pass made by Young to Tremayne for 14 yards, which ended up reversed. Back-to-back runs for eight yards, nine yards, four yards, eight yards again, three yards, and seven yards so far, all made by the combined duo of Young and Dowdle. The Panthers finally made their second touchdown of this game thanks to Fitzgerald, bringing the score to 17-10. Closing the gap a bit between Seattle and Carolina going into the fourth quarter.

​Fourth Quarter

​The Seahawks had a no-gain run after kickoff, not long before a six-yard run, a pass, a one-yard run, and a minus seven-yard sack for Darnold, five-yard penalty during the drive. Personal foul flag for Smith-Njigba getting his face mask grabbed, not long after that. Smith-Njigba made a perfect 30-yard pass in total so far, catching the ball and adding 17 yards. Smith Njigba now has a record 1700 receiving yards this season because of it. A field goal by Myers brought the score to 20-10, with Seattle holding the lead still at this point. Charbonett made yet another touchdown at the one-yard line; the score was 27-10 with less than three minutes left in the game at that point. Carolina started to lose hope, not getting much luck outside of a three-yard run, and Bryce Young kneeling for minus two yards. Sam Darnold was named the first quarterback to lead his team to 13 consecutive wins now to close out this game.  

​Final Thoughts

​Going into this game, there were a lot more odds stacked in Seattle’s favor to keep the top seed. Seattle had a lot more momentum from the start of the game all the way to the end compared to Carolina. Maybe it was good luck that they deferred the coin toss ball possession in the first half, or perhaps Carolina just got too confident with that deferral that they’d come out on top and sweep right from under Seattle’s feet. That fumble on Carolina’s end really cost them the rest of the game, in all honesty. Hopefully, Seattle can keep this hot streak alive for just one more game in the 2025 season. As they head to Santa Clara next weekend to face off against the San Francisco 49ers.