The Carolina Panthers and Seattle Seahawks were two of the best teams in the league a season ago. Before this season got underway, their Week 13 contest was marked as one of the most anticipated of the season and a rematch of an exciting playoff game from a year ago. But fast forward to right now, and the two teams are in much different places.
Panthers vs. Seahawks: Start time, TV schedule for ‘Sunday Night Football’
The Panthers are struggling big time compared to last year, but their Sunday match against the Seahawks should be a good one.
Carolina is reeling at 4-7, only still in playoff contention due to a second-rate NFC South division. They’re nearly out of the discussion for the wild card race, as well. The Seahawks aren’t perfect, but at 7-3-1, they’re doing much better atop the NFC West.
Regardless, the two will meet in the national spotlight of Sunday Night Football, with kickoff set for 8:30 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on NBC. Al Michaels returns to the booth after taking Thanksgiving weekend off, rejoined by Cris Collinsworth and Michele Tafoya on the sideline. A live stream of the game will be available on NBC Sports right here.
The Seahawks earned three straight wins over big opponents, handing the Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots, and Philadelphia Eagles all losses. But just when it looked like Seattle would lay waste to the competition through the rest of the season, it fell to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week, 14-5. The Seahawks really need to bounce back after they sleepwalked through that game in Florida.
The Panthers nosedived this season, but they have the talent on the roster to be competitive with anyone. They lost two of their past three games, but are playing at a higher level than they were when they lost four games in a row starting in Week 3.
In their last outing, they rallied back against the Oakland Raiders, only to lose, 35-32. Prior to that, they beat the rival New Orleans Saints. The way forward for Carolina is tenuous. The Panthers cannot afford a single loss at this point, and they have rematches against the Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons before the season is up.
Seattle is the toughest team still remaining on their schedule, though. The Seahawks play the Panthers, then the Green Bay Packers, and then all three of their NFC West divisional opponents. The Packers game may be the biggest one remaining, but the Seahawks can’t overlook Carolina.
Right now, all the Panthers can do is play the teams in front of them. They need a lot of help to make the playoffs, but Ron Rivera, Cam Newton, and the rest of the team is solely focused on just getting the next win.
Unfortunately for them, CenturyLink Field is one of the least hospitable environments in the NFL. And Seahawks fans — and cornerback Richard Sherman — haven’t forgotten about Newton throwing a 12th Man flag after the Panthers’ Divisional round victory last year. The Seattle crowd probably won’t let Newton forget about it on Sunday night, either.
How to Watch Panthers vs. Seahawks on Sunday
Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
Location: CenturyLink Field, Seattle
TV: NBC
Announcers: Cris Collinsworth, Al Michaels, Michele Tafoya
Online Streaming: NBC Sports
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