Richard Sherman says he should have won major NFL award that went to Luke Kuechly

The rivalry between the Legion of Boom era Seahawks and the Ron Rivera era Panthers continues raging a decade later.

January 10, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Carolina Panthers wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin (13) catches a pass against the defense of Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman (25) during the first half in the 2014 NFC Divisional playoff football game at CenturyLink Field. The play did not result in a touchdown. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Few teams have enjoyed a more bitter non-division rivalry than the Cam Newton-led Carolina Panthers and the Legion of Boom era Seattle Seahawks. When they were coming up Seattle's greatest rival was the San Francisco 49ers, who peaked when Colin Kaepernick's pass into the end zone in the 2013 NFC Championship game was tipped by Richard Sherman and intercepted, sealing the Seahawks' triumphant trip to the Super Bowl.

That season turned out to be the high water mark for the Seahawks, who returned to the Super Bowl the following year but were stopped one yard short of repeating as world champions. The following season, the Panthers put the final nail in the coffin of the LOB when they beat them in the divisional round of the playoffs, sealed by Greg Olsen's famous touchdown.

To some the rivalry is still going to this day. Sherman kicked up some dust recently when he claimed that he should have won the Defensive Player of the Year award for the 2013 season.

One of the tragedies of my career. Don’t know what more I could have done. https://t.co/SgHL8967em

— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) August 21, 2025

The actual winner of the award was of course Carolina's superstar middle linebacker Luke Kuechly, who was only in his second year as a pro.

Fresh off Defensive Rookie of the Year honors, Kuechly racked up 156 tackles, two sacks, 10 tackles for a loss, seven pass breakups and four interceptions on his way to winning the DPOY award. Kuechly's Approximate Value for the season was 18. By comparison, Sherman put up a league-high eight interceptions, 16 pass breakups, and 48 tackles. His AV for the year came in at 21, also an NFL-best.

Sherman certainly had a case, and at the time he was the best cornerback in the sport, even with Darrelle Revis putting in his fourth career Pro Bowl year. There's no taking away what Sherman and those Seahawks teams accomplished, but we'll take Kuechly's overall impact on the field over Sherman's sensational coverage that particular season.

The rivalry will be renewed once again late this year - the Panthers are scheduled to host the Seahawks in Week 17.

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