Seattle escaped Minnesota with a 10-9 win in the Wild Card Round last Sunday. Carolina had a 1st-round bye last week. The Panthers defeated the Seahawks 27-23 in Seattle in Week 6.
Seattle’s offense produced nothing in the first 3 quarters last week as the cold really affected QB Russell Wilson. He came around in the 4th quarter but will have to be good from the get-go in this contest. Carolina’s defense ranked 6th on the year as they are equally adept at stopping the run and pass. WR Doug Baldwin will face off against CB Josh Norman in what promises to be a spirited battle. WRs Jermaine Kearse and Tyler Lockett need to get open this week as Baldwin will be taken away on several plays. Wilson has cut down on his sacks in recent weeks but is still easily flushed from the pocket. LBs Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis are both fast and look for one of them to ‘spy’ on Wilson occasionally to cut down on big runs. The Vikings did a good job of that last weekend. RB Marshawn Lynch is expected back this week but he was expected back last week as well. The Panthers yield only 88.4 ypg on the ground and their aggressive d-line should win the battle with the Seahawks questionable o-line. The Panthers defense led the NFL with 39 takeaways (24 interceptions) so Seattle has to avoid costly TOs.
Carolina averaged 33 points per game at home this season and has gotten big contributions from several players. RB Jonathan Stewart missed the last 3 games with a foot injury but is expected to play this Sunday. He ran for 989 yards and 6 TDs on the year. RBs Cameron Artis-Payne and Mike Tolbert will also get carries. The Panthers had success using the read-option in the first meeting and look for more of that in this game. QB Cam Newton is a strong runner and a great decision maker on when to hand off or take it himself. He ran for 636 yards and 10 TDs this year. The passing game has been much better than expected. TE Greg Olsen caught the winning TD in the first matchup to cap off a great day (7-131-1). He is expected to be covered by SS Kam Chancellor in what appears to be a bit of a mismatch. Chancellor had a dubious pass interference call on him in the late stages last week and then allowed a big gain by TE Kyle Rudolph. TEs had a big year against the Seahawks defense (75-873-8) and Olsen is one of the best. Look for him to be a frequent target. WR Ted Ginn has missed some games with a knee injury but is also expected back. He led the WRs on Carolina in catches, yards and TDs (10) and had one of the best seasons of his career. WR Jerricho Cotchery is a cagey veteran while huge rookie WR Devin Funchess has gotten better as the season has progressed. Newton was sacked 33 times this year.
Panthers 70% Over 51%
