RENTON, Wash. — The Seattle Seahawks’ lucky rabbit’s foot seemed to run out of magic in Charlotte on Sunday.
Just a week after watching Minnesota’s Blair Walsh miss a 27-yard field goal to keep Seattle’s season alive, the Seahawks were unable to perform another miracle against the Carolina Panthers. The Seahawks dug a 31-0 hole in the first half against Carolina and ran out of time in their attempt at an improbable rally. Final score, 31-24.
The Panthers used two big plays early to jump out to a 14-0 lead. Running back Jonathan Stewart’s 59-yard romp on the first play from scrimmage Sunday led to a Carolina touchdown. Linebacker Luke Kuechly then intercepted a Russell Wilson pass and returned it 14 yards for a touchdown to grab the early advantage.
Seattle seemingly climbed out of danger on its second offensive possession, moving across midfield. However, Wilson took a sack from defensive tackle Kawann Short and the Seahawks were forced to punt. If Seattle could get off the field defensively, the game had a chance to return to normalcy. Instead, the Panthers marched 86 yards in 15 plays for their third touchdown just two plays into the second quarter.
The game snowballed further out of control from there as Seattle faced a 31-point deficit at halftime.
“I think we had 11 offensive plays when it was 31-0,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. “I don’t know how that could happen, but it did. Every opportunity that we had was crucial. … Any one of those drives. Any one of those opportunities, they’re all huge.”
The Seahawks thoroughly dominated the second half. Seattle outgained Carolina 280-75 after the break and scored on four of its five second-half possessions, but the hole was too deep.
“Looking at this game is kind of like a microcosm of the season,” Carroll said. “We struggle so much early in the year to get going. It took us a long time and then when we finally did, we caught fire and we got rolling. Everybody in here just feels like we just ran out of time. There wasn’t quite enough time to get this thing done.”
REPORT CARD VS. PANTHERS
–PASSING OFFENSE: C. The first half was a complete failure. The protection struggled and Russell Wilson’s errors helped dig the 31-0 hole the Seahawks faced. The second half was a complete turn-around with Wilson passing for 255 yards and three touchdowns in the second half.
–RUSHING OFFENSE: D. When the longest run of the day comes on a fake punt, it probably wasn’t a good day at the office. The large early deficit helped negate the run game, but Marshawn Lynch was stopped for a loss of 3 yards on Seattle’s first carry of the game and it didn’t get much better from there.
–PASS DEFENSE: B minus. Cam Newton passed for just 161 yards and a touchdown in the game as the Panthers tried to run clock in the second half. However, Newton made some clutch throws to keep the chains moving in the first half as Carolina kept rolling down the field.
–RUN DEFENSE: B minus. Jonathan Stewart’s 59-yard run on the first play from scrimmage led to an early 7-0 lead for Carolina. However, Seattle’s defense responded and slowed down the Panthers dynamic running attack after that. Stewart became the first player to rush for 100 yards or more against Seattle since Jamaal Charles did it for Kansas City in November 2014.
–SPECIAL TEAMS: B plus. Tyler Lockett’s 50-yard kickoff return to open the second half helped spark Seattle’s rally. A fake punt was executed well with DeShawn Shead gaining 17 yards on fourth-and-2. Steven Hauschka converted one of his two field-goal attempts, missing from 55 yards to end the first half, and Jon Ryan pinned the Panthers inside their own 20 twice on three total punts.
–COACHING: C. Electing to forgo a 36-yard field goal on fourth-and-5 late in the first half resulted in a turnover on downs and it came back to haunt Seattle later. The Seahawks had a chance to drive for the game-tying touchdown. Instead, they had to get the field goal with 1:12 remaining to make it a one-score game with an onside kick necessary. Also, the offense could have managed time better on their final drive of the first half to get another shot at the needed field goal. Instead, Steven Hauschka’s 55-yard field goal fell short and wide right.