Taking Down Another Dirty Bird
A look at some details of the upcoming game against the Seahawks!
The Carolina Panthers (4-8) are returning from their late bye week to face the Seattle Seahawks (7-5) in a road showdown for Week 14 of the regular season.
As the NFC South is currently in a whirlwind, the determination of playoff status could be left up to the Panthers. With Tampa Bay still leading the division by two wins, it’s now left up to the three remaining to get the job done for their teams. The question is, will Carolina be the one to do it?
Seattle was in a bit of a rut for the last three weeks. Losing two in a row, they were able to come back and defeat the Rams 27-23 on December 4th. They’re currently 2nd in the NFC West and could potentially fit in as a wild card in the playoffs. The Panthers are at a 4-10 all-time record against the team, their last win in Seattle being in 2015 against the infamous Legion of Boom.
Some bye week news for Carolina includes a turn of events that caused QB Baker Mayfield to request his release from the team on Monday morning. Though it’s no surprise Mayfield was looking for a starting position he wasn’t given, it is a bit of a shock the Rams tended to pick him up off of waivers on Tuesday afternoon.
Mayfield now has a chance to lead the team to the end of its season, with starting QB Matthew Stafford sidelined with a spinal cord contusion. Sam Darnold and backup PJ Walker will now be the two Carolina quarterbacks left on the active roster to hopefully bring the team to a playoff spot.
The Seattle game will also give Panthers GM Scott Fitterer a bit of a homecoming. Working with the Seahawks from 2001-2020, Fitterer got a change of scenery when picking up the job with Carolina. A few players like Frankie Luvu and Shaq Thompson also played college football in Washington, so they’ll be back near some old stomping grounds as well.
Some big injury updates include RB D’Onta Foreman and DE Henry Anderson. D’Onta has stated to the media that he feels good and is 95% sure he will take the start on Sunday and play full reps. Foreman had an injured left foot in their last game against Denver, but he is motivated to get back on the field. Veteran DE Henry Anderson was placed on the non-football injury list early in the season, confusing fans for his leave. After coming back on Wednesday the 7th, Anderson noted he had a minor stroke that he has spent time recovering from. He played college football at Stanford and was drafted by the Colts in 2015, now racking up a total of 182 tackles and 11.5 sacks in his professional career.
Other injury questions for both teams include Cory Littleton, Brian Burns, Matt Ioannidis, Myles Hartsfield, DeeJay Dallas, Marquise Goodwin, and Kenneth Walker III. Injury updates are day-to-day and will be determined over the weekend if specific players will be active or not.
QB Geno Smith has turned a lot of heads this season in Seattle, so he will definitely be someone to keep an eye out for during the game on Sunday. The Panthers hope to see defensive factors like Burns and Brown causing pressure in the backfield. As mentioned before, if D’Onta plays, the run game will be another important factor for the Panthers. Young secondary leaders Jaycee Horn and Tariq Woolen will give receivers a run for their money as well. It will be fun watching both cornerbacks match up with their counterparts.
Carolina will continue to look ahead at the five remaining games of their schedule, including home games with Pittsburgh and Detroit, then traveling out to division rivals Tampa and New Orleans to close out the regular season. They hope some sparks will be reignited with the offense and they can come back home this week with a win.
Kickoff against the Seahawks will be at 4:25PM EST on Sunday, December 11th. They will play at Lumen Field in Seattle, WA. Tune in on FOX for live game coverage.
Don’t forget to vote for all Panthers players to be eligible to play in the 2023 Pro Bowl Games in Las Vegas! Link below:
https://www.nfl.com/pro-bowl-games/vote/
(PC: CBS Sports, WATCH: Cam Newton shreds Legion of Boom with TD to Greg Olsen, 17 Jan 2016)
