Final score: Seahawks 40, Panthers 7
Panthers vs. Seahawks live scores, highlights, and updates from ‘Sunday Night Football’
Seattle had its way with Carolina
Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images
The game was getting out of hand, but old friend Marshawn Lynch showed up on the Seahawks’ sideline to provide some excitement.
Third quarter: Seahawks 30, Panthers 7
Seattle continues to dominate, this time with Tyler Lockett taking a short (backwards) pass 75 yards to the house to essentially put the game away.
Second quarter: Seahawks 23, Panthers 7
Both teams traded big plays, with Cam Newton hooking up with Ted Ginn on a 55-yard bomb to pull Carolina within three. The Seahawks answered with a 45-yard touchdown run by Thomas Rawls, his second score of the night. Seattle added a pair of field goals to take a 16-point lead into halftime.
First quarter: Seahawks 10, Panthers 0
The Seahawks took advantage of an early turnover to go up 3-0, then drove for a touchdown on their second drive, finished off by an eight-yard Rawls scamper into the end zone.
Highlights
Cam Newton didn’t start for the Panthers on Sunday, held out of the first series of the game for disciplinary reasons.
That decision proved costly immediately for Carolina, when backup QB Derek Anderson threw an interception on his first play.
Seahawks safety Earl Thomas was carted off in the second quarter with a fractured left tibia, an injury serious enough for him to ponder retirement.
Ginn and Rawls trade highlight touchdowns in the second quarter.
Pregame
It’s hard not to look at this matchup without think about what could’ve (should’ve) been. When the Sunday Night Football schedule came out the Seattle-Carolina game was definitely one of the highlights.
That two most recent NFC champs, a Divisional round rematch, Cam Newton, Russell Wilson, and two prolific defenses — this game was supposed to have it all.
The reality is the that Panthers (4-7) are far from the team that went to the Super Bowl last year while the Seahawks (7-3-1) don’t exactly resemble the dominant club of seasons past.
The Seahawks are only scoring 20.4 points per game and are 17th in the league in yards per game (341.9). Not to mention if the season ended today, Wilson would have the lowest quarterback rating of his career (93.9).
They’ve survived thus far on a defense that gives up the fewest points in the league and the seventh-fewest yards allowed per game (335.6), which is more than the Panthers can say. The Carolina defense is allowing 25.5 points per game, its worst mark since 2011.
Add lackluster play from Newton to that mix and it’s not hard to see why it’s been a rough year.
Had the Panthers defeated the Raiders last weekend, this Sunday’s game could’ve been a season-maker. Instead, they fell, 35-32, in Oakland and all but locked themselves out of the playoffs.
That doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty to watch for here. It is Newton’s first time playing Seattle since he grabbed a 12th Man flag, balled it up and treated it like garbage, and the Seahawks have already started chirping about that scene. So at least there’s some animosity to look forward to.
But it’s hard not to see this matchup and think about what it should’ve been.
The game, which starts at 8:30 p.m. ET, will air on NBC and can be streamed live on NBC Sports.
Pregame reading
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