CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ If it's Carolina in the regular-season, then it must be time for a season-defining win for the Seattle Seahawks.
Playing from behind all day, Seattle finally caught all the way up when it mattered most, with Sebastian Janikowski hitting a 31-yard field goal as time ran out to pull out a dramatic 30-27 win.
It was the fourth time since 2012 that Seattle won a regular season game in Carolina that went down to the final minutes.
Unlike those, this was not a slugfest as the Seahawks allowed a season-high 478 yards.
But some critical stops in the red zone _ including a Bradley McDougald interception in the end zone in the third quarter _ helped keep Seattle close.
And then Seattle won the battle of the field goals late.
Carolina's Graham Gano missed a 52-yarder wide right with 1:40 left that could have put the Panthers ahead.
The Seahawks then used a 43-yard pass from Russell Wilson to Tyler Lockett that took the ball to the 11 to set up Janikowski's winning kick.
It was the second time this year Janikowski won a game on the final play with a field goal, with the other coming at Arizona.
And after talk of Seattle not being able to win the close ones, they have now overcome fourth-quarter deficits in the past two weeks to beat Green Bay and Carolina _ both of which Seattle is battling for playoff spots.
The game also means Seattle could be among the top six seeds in the NFC playoff picture by the end of the weekend. In addition, the Seahawks now face a favorable stretch of games, with four of the last five at home and three against the NFC West bottom-feeding 49ers and Cardinals.
Cam Newton got Carolina's final drive going with passes of 10 yards to Christian McCaffrey, whom Seattle just could not cover all day, and then consecutive passes of 18 and 11 to D.J. Moore who took it to the Seattle 40 at the two-minute warning.
But from there, the Panthers made some weird play calls, with a second down pass that went incomplete, allowing Seattle to preserve its final time out.
On third down, rookie cornerback Tre Flowers tackled Moore short of a first down _ and a likely long gain _ in the open field, bringing on Gano, a veteran who has had some struggles of late.
Following Gano's failed kick, Seattle faced a third down from its 47.
Lockett got open deep down the right side behind Captain Munnerlyn, gathering it in and taking it to the 11 with 47 seconds left and Seattle used up the clock and then brought on Janikowski to pull out a victory that also made Wilson the winningest QB in franchise history.
The Seahawks trailed 13-10 at halftime, never holding the lead.
But it could have been a lot worse. The Panthers gained 236 yards but had to settle for field goals on two drives that got to the 10 or closer, and were stopped on fourth down on another.
Seattle, meanwhile, responded with drives to tie the game the first two times the Panthers scored to keep Carolina within reach.
A key play early came when the Panthers went for it on fourth-and-2 at Seattle's 5 yard line on their first drive.
Newton kept it on a play in which he ran behind pulling guard Greg Van Roten. Bobby Wagner and Austin Calitro broke the play up and Newton was stopped just short.
Carolina again drove deep into Seattle territory on its second possession.
But on a third-and-2 play, defensive lineman Nazair Jones broke through quickly to stop McCaffrey for a three-yard loss and force a field goal.
Seattle then drove for a field goal of its own. But the Seahawks should have had more as Wilson overthrew an open Doug Baldwin in the end zone, the ball sailing as he got rid of it in the face of some late pressure from Julius Peppers.
Later in the quarter, the Panthers used a 25-yard run on a reverse by receiver Curtis Samuel to set up Newton's 7-yard TD pass to Samuel to make it 10-3.
But Seattle immediately responded with Wilson hitting 3 of 3 passes for 61 yards, the key gains a 27-yarder on a short toss to Lockett, who then broke free to convert a third-and-four, and then a 28-yarder to fullback Tre Madden to take it to the 1.
The reception was the first of the year for Madden, who lined up as the up back in an I-formation and snuck through the line unnoticed before taking in the pass from Wilson to the 1.
Carson ran it in from there to tie the game at 10 with 2:28 left.
Carolina then drove 60 yards in eight plays to set up a 25-yard field goal by Gano on a play that snapped with one second left.
Carolina appeared poised to add to its lead when it drove to the Seattle 18 on its first possession of the third quarter.
But on a first down, Newton threw to Chris Manhertz in tight coverage and McDougald made a juggling interception in the end zone.
That began a rather crazy sequence.
On Seattle's first play, Carson leaped over Carolina safety Eric Reid, landing on his feet and continuing the run to the Panthers 35.
On a third-and-12 two plays later, David Moore juked past Carolina cornerback James Bradberry to corral a 54-yard pass from Wilson that set up Wilson's 12-yard TD pass to Tyler Lockett.
Lockett was initially ruled down at the 1, but Lockett was given the TD after a review, which meant a delayed celebration for Seattle's receiving corps. (This time, their celebration appeared to be a nod to an Allen Iverson's famous jumper and step over Tyronn Lue.)
Carolina, though, came right back with a 26-yard Newton run getting them into Seattle territory and then a pass interference penalty on Shaquill Griffin leading to a 1-yard TD run by McCaffrey that made it 20-17.
The Seahawks used a 14-play march to tie it back up at 20 on a 30-yard field goal by Sebastian Janikowski with 9:27 left.
But once again, on that drive, Seattle was had to settle for a field goal instead of the touchdown it desired. The Seahawks had converted a fourth-and-1 to get a first down at the 12, but was stopped there, with a Wilson fade pass over the head of David Moore on third down.
McCaffrey then ran 59 yards straight up the middle on Carolina's next play and then gained 15 more to the 1.
But McCaffrey was stopped on a first down dive over the end zone, fumbling in the process.
Yet, once again the Panthers got a fortuitous bounce with tight end Greg Olsen falling on it.
After a Newton incompletion, he then hit McCaffrey for 1 yard and the TD with 6:57 left to put the Panthers up 27-20.
But Seattle responded with a long drive of its own and a Wilson TD pass of 35 yards to David Moore on fourth down with 3:26 left setting up an ending as frantic as all that had come before it.
