Panthers vs. Seahawks, 2015 NFL playoffs: Seattle begins Super Bowl defense

Many believe the Seattle Seahawks will represent the NFC in Super Bowl XLIX. Some have already begun to look ahead to potential NFC Championship matchups between the defending Super Bowl champs and the Dallas Cowboys or Green Bay Packers. Before that can happen, however, the Seahawks will first need to get by the Carolina Panthers on Saturday.

The Panthers entered the postseason as the NFL's least-heralded playoff team. They went nearly the entire month of October and all of November without winning a game, enduring a laundry list of injuries along the way. Each of Carolina's top three running backs missed significant time with injury, forcing previously unknown players like Fozzy Whittaker and Darrin Reaves to lead the ground attack. That put greater pressure on quarterback Cam Newton, who entered the year with a bum ankle and quickly developed a rib cartilage tear on top of it. All hope seemed lost when Newton was involved in a severe car accident in early December, but he returned two weeks later to lead the Panthers to an NFC South crown.

The Seahawks didn't play like the defending champions at the start of the season, but they finished the year as well as anyone and in the process earned the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Seattle won its last six games, including key victories over the Philadelphia Eagles and the division rival San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals. The defense carried the team during that period, yielding just 39 total points in the final six games. But the offense had its moments as well -- most notably Marshawn Lynch completing another unforgettable touchdown run. If the Seahawks can maintain that level of dominance on both sides of the ball, it will be difficult for any team to defeat them.

This season wasn't a banner year for Newton. He set career lows in yards per attempt (6.98), passing yards (3,127), touchdown passes (18), and fumbles (six). However, he missed two games spent most of the season dealing with multiple calamities and playing with a subpar supporting cast. While the players around him haven't changed, he has moved around better since returning from his car wreck. He averaged 8.5 yards per rush in the season finale against the Atlanta Falcons, most for a single game all year. He added 35 yards on the ground last week against the Cardinals in the Wild Card round.

Lynch is known mostly for his power, but he was uncommonly efficient as a runner this season. His 4.7 yards per carry came in almost a half-yard above his career average. It also marked just the second time in his career that Lynch finished with a clip of 4.5 or above. He wasn't the only great rusher in Seattle, however. Quarterback Russell Wilson finished just 151 yards short of 1,000 yards on the ground. His 7.2 yards per attempt were among the highest for a quarterback in 2014, as were his six rushing touchdowns.

Jonathan Stewart - The Panthers' run game was ineffective for most of the season, but it looked vastly improved last weekend with a healthy Stewart carrying the load. Stewart, who delivered 123 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries, was often the best player on the field. Although Seattle has a great run defense that yields an average of 81.5 rushing yards per game, Stewart gives the Panthers some hope of overcoming it.

Earl Thomas - Lynch and Wilson get most of the attention, but Thomas is equally as capable of making jaw-dropping plays. In the season finale against the Rams, the Seahawks safety forced running back Benny Cunningham to fumble at the goal line using a Chuck Norris-esque karate chop. Though Seattle won by 14, the game was close until the final quarter. Without this touchdown-saving play by Thomas, it could have gone differently.