For the 11th time in 10 years, the Seattle Seahawks will face off against the Carolina Panthers. These two clubs have met with usual regularity for teams not even on the same coast, let alone the same division. In fact, Seattle has played the Panthers at least once in every year under coach Pete Carroll – including twice in 2014 and 2015 – except for the 2017 season.
Although this has been billed as one of the better conference rivalries, as games between Carolina and Seattle are typically competitive, the “rivalry” is truly anything but. The Seahawks outright own the Panthers, winning nine out of the thirteen total match-ups, with the most recent victory coming just last year in a 30-27 road win.
This domination is expected to continue as the Seahawks open up as massive six-point road favorites over Carolina, who is in free-fall mode. The Panthers started the year 0-2, but rattled off four straight wins and looked like a legitimate playoff contender. Then they proceeded to lose six of their next seven games, including the last five straight.
The Panthers have fired their long-time coach, Ron Rivera, and are just looking to limp through the rest of a lost season as they plan for the future.
Prediction: Seahawks over Panthers 28-17
The high-flying Seahawks suffered their “trap game” loss last week when they were punched squarely in the mouth by the Rams in a 28-12 defeat. Now they look to bounce back after a reset and take care of business on the road.
The absence of Jadeveon Clowney and Mychal Kendricks could keep Carolina in this game longer than expected, especially with the greatest one-man weapon in the NFL, running back Christian McCaffrey.
McCaffrey is simply making opposing defenses look foolish, as the Stanford standout has accumulated 1,946 scrimmage yards this season. Last year against the Seahawks, McCaffrey had 125 rushing yards, 112 receiving yards, and a pair of touchdowns.
However, at the end of the day, the Seahawks are simply the more desperate team and need the win. Their hopes of a division title and first-round bye still exist, but a loss to Carolina would all but eliminate them.
