The Seattle Seahawks' Super Bowl defense remains on track.
The reigning champions beat the Carolina Panthers 31-17 on Saturday night at CenturyLink Field in the NFC divisional round.
The final score isn't necessarily indicative of the gap between the two teams. This game was pretty competitive going into the fourth quarter, and Seattle grabbed a 17-10 lead after a 37-yard field goal from Steven Hauschka five seconds into the final frame.
Then came a 25-yard touchdown pass from Russell Wilson to tight end Luke Willson to give the Seahawks its first double-digit advantage, 24-10, with 10 minutes and 26 seconds left in the game.
Carolina answered with a positive drive and looked poised to get a score. A 31-yard reception for Greg Olsen got the ball down to the Seattle 19-yard line. But two plays later, Seattle safety Kam Chancellor stepped in front of a pass intended for Panthers tight end Ed Dickson and returned it 90 yards for the touchdown:
It was the longest postseason TD in the team's history:
Chancellor spoke about the interception after the game, per Cassidy Quinn of KGW News in Portland, Oregon:
Kelvin Benjamin added a late touchdown reception to give Carolina a faint glimmer of hope with 2:34 remaining. When Seattle recovered the ensuing onside kick, it all but closed the door on a Panthers win.
Russell Wilson was fantastic all night, finishing 15-of-22 for 268 yards and three touchdowns. It was his first three-TD game in his playoff career, per ESPN Stats & Info:
The majority of Wilson's damage came on third down, as CBSSports .com's Will Brinson pointed out:
Marshawn Lynch didn't have a particularly great game, rushing for 59 yards on 14 carries, but it didn't matter since his QB put together such an efficient performance.
Cam Newton's critics will likely be more emboldened after Saturday night. The Panthers quarterback was 23-of-36 for 246 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also fumbled twice, turning it over once.
His final pick was the back-breaker for Carolina.
Carolina managed to out-gain Seattle 362-348, but the Seahawks averaged 6.7 yards a play, compared to the Panthers' 5.3.
ESPN Stats & Info added more to that point:
According to Yahoo Sports' Dan Wetzel , only two teams have reached the conference championship the season after winning it all:
Given the strength of each defense, the game played to type for much of the first quarter, with neither offense finding success for prolonged stretches. The first seven drives of the game ended in a punt or a turnover, and the teams combined to gain 83 yards during that stretch.
Wilson found the breakthrough with 56 seconds remaining in the quarter. A fumble during a handoff between Newton and running back Jonathan Stewart set the Seahawks up with great field position (via NFL Now):
Seattle started from the Carolina 28-yard line, and four plays later, it drew first blood.
On a 3rd-and-9, the Panthers brought the house on a blitz, but Wilson lofted a prayer into the end zone. It found a wide-open Doug Baldwin for a 16-yard TD reception to give the home team a 7-0 lead.
Wilson got a bit lucky that Baldwin beat his man, but he did a great job of quickly reading the play and devising a solution:
Grantland's Bill Barnwell added that Baldwin's catch wasn't the first time the Seahawks beat Panthers safety Tre Boston over the top:
Carolina answered back with an 8:12 drive that spanned 14 plays and 79 yards. Benjamin capped it off with a seven-yard touchdown to tie the game. The rookie did well to hold on despite getting hit by Earl Thomas as he caught the pass:
According to NFL on CBS, it's the first touchdown the Seattle defense surrendered in nearly a month:
NFL.com's Ian Rapoport was impressed with the catch and liked the momentary staredown Benjamin had with members of the Seahawks secondary:
Wilson and the Seahawks offense wrested the lead back on a 63-yard pitch-and-catch between Wilson and Jermaine Kearse . The Seattle QB lofted a perfect pass over the top of the Panthers secondary. Kearse hauled it in with one arm and ran to pay dirt:
ESPN's Trey Wingo noted how Kearse nearly has as many receiving TDs in the playoffs as he does in the regular season:
The first half wrapped up with a rather odd set of field-goal attempts.
On Graham Gano 's first try, Chancellor anticipated the snap count and leaped over the Panthers offensive line. He narrowly missed blocking the kick, and Gano was good from 35 yards out. A false-start penalty on Carolina wiped out the make and moved the Panthers back five yards.
On Gano 's second try, Chancellor once again timed the snap perfectly and looked to have blocked the kick as the ball sailed wide left. However, referees whistled Chancellor for running into the kicker, giving Carolina a third chance.
There was some argument as to whether the officials made the right call. Fox Sports' Mike Pereira concurred with the decision, pointing out that the replays showed Chancellor didn't actually block the kick:
The third time was the charm for Gano , nailing a 35-yard field goal and sending his team into the locker room with a four-point deficit, 14-10.
Although the Panthers were down at the half, they had reason to be optimistic heading into the third quarter. They gained only one fewer yard than Seattle through the first two quarters (169 vs. 170), while they held Lynch to just 21 yards on eight carries.
A bit concerning was the fact that Newton had just 82 yards passing. He averaged 4.3 yards per attempt in the first half.
Even more concerning for Carolina was that it couldn't get on the board in the third quarter. The odds it would be able to come back in the fourth quarter looked slim.
Scott Fowler of The Charlotte Observer mentioned how stingy the Seahawks defense has been over its last six games:
According to Football Outsiders' Scott Kacsmar , the Panthers were also winless in 26 games with a deficit of three or more points in the fourth quarter under the stewardship of Newton and head coach Ron Rivera:
Carolina's fourth-quarter misery continued on Saturday. Although it did break Seattle's scoreless streak, it was too little, too late. By the time Benjamin hauled in the pass, the Panthers' fate was all but sealed.
For the second year in a row, Carolina's season ends in the divisional round. This defeat illustrates just how important it is for the Panthers to upgrade the offense in the offseason.
Newton didn't play particularly well, but he didn't get much support. The defense can't carry the entire team, either.
This is Seattle's seventh win in a row and 10th in its last 11 games.
Some will perhaps inflate the Seahawks' performance in the immediate aftermath of the victory. Although the Panthers looked good in their last few games, they did close out the regular season 7-8-1 and beat a Ryan Lindley-led Arizona Cardinals team in the Wild Card Round.
Seattle should've won this game convincingly and did exactly that.
With that said, it's difficult envisioning either the Dallas Cowboys or Green Bay Packers going into CenturyLink Field and winning. The Seahawks look every bit the best team in the league at the moment.
from Bleacher Report http://ift.tt/1tVBpJr
via IFTTT January 10, 2015 at 08:42PM
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