5 Matchups to Watch as Seahawks Visit Panthers in Week 15
Looking to get back in the win column and keep pace with the NFC West-leading 49ers, the Seahawks will travel to Carolina to face the Panthers in their final road contest of the 2019 regular season.
With a division title and potential first-round bye still within reach for Seattle, which five matchups will have the most impact on Sunday's Week 15 clash at Bank of America Stadium?
--Seahawks tackles Germain Ifedi and Duane Brown vs. Panthers edge rushers Mario Addison, Bruce Irvin, and Brian Burns: Last Sunday, Ifedi and Brown struggled at times trying to keep Dante Fowler Jr. and Samson Ebukam out of the backfield, as the duo of pass rushers finished with 3.5 sacks against quarterback Russell Wilson. The Panthers have plenty of defensive deficiencies, but like the Rams, they’ve got several capable undersized speed rushers who know how to chase down opposing quarterbacks and rank second in the NFL with 47 sacks this year. Leading the way, Addison has a team-high 9.5 sacks and 13 quarterback hits, though he is questionable to play with a chest injury. Irvin, a former Seahawks first-round pick, has 5.5 sacks and 11 quarterback hits in 10 games, while Burns has shown flashes in his rookie campaign with 5.5 sacks and a fumble returned for a touchdown. If Seattle falls into a hole where it has to pass more as it did a week ago, that could spell doom given Carolina’s bevy of rushers.
--Seahawks linebackers Bobby Wagner, K.J. Wright, and Cody Barton vs. Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey: Lamar Jackson is the clear favorite now to win MVP with Baltimore leading the AFC and looking like the class of the AFC, but what McCaffrey has been able to continue doing for an injury-marred, underwhelming team makes him more than worthy to still be in the discussion. The third-year back out of Stanford ranks third in the NFL with 1,220 rushing yards, has caught a ridiculous 86 passes for 726 yards out of the backfield, and has yielded 16 total touchdowns. He’s done all of this without Cam Newton at quarterback behind a mediocre offensive line. Last year, he went off against the Seahawks, producing over 200 all purpose yards and two touchdowns. Few running backs have the ability to dominate games in today’s NFL, but McCaffrey is one of them and Wagner, Wright, and Barton will have to play run fits perfectly and limit his yardage after the catch in coverage. That’s much easier said than done with one of the league’s best play makers.
--Seahawks receivers Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf, and Josh Gordon vs. Panthers cornerbacks James Bradberry and Donte Jackson: Battling through a leg issue and the flu, Lockett has caught only five passes in Seattle’s past three games. But if there’s a game for him, Metcalf, Gordon, and the rest of the Seahawks’ receiving corps to get right, this could be the perfect matchup to do so. Neither Jackson nor Bradberry have much interest in tackling, which helps explain why the Panthers rank in the top 10 for yards after the catch this season. Jackson has missed more than 20 percent of his tackle attempts this season and surrendered nearly 500 yards and four touchdowns in coverage, while Bradberry has also missed nine tackles and allowed 615 passing yards. The two corners do have six combined interceptions and can be opportunistic, but this still should be an advantageous situation for Seattle to spark its aerial attack and produce big yardage after the catch.
--Seahawks cornerbacks Tre Flowers, and Akeem King vs. Panthers receivers D.J. Moore and Curtis Samuel: Starter Shaquill Griffin, who was listed as questionable with a hamstring injury, won’t play against the Panthers. Though quarterback Kyle Allen has thrown 12 interceptions in his past seven games, he still has two very good receivers at his disposal in Moore and Samuel, which makes Griffin’s absence a critical one. Moore already has surpassed the 1,000-yard plateau for the first time and has legitimate 4.3 40-yard dash speed. He’d be a difficult cover for Flowers and King, bigger-bodied corners who win with length and physicality. As for Samuel, he leads Carolina with five touchdowns and as a former running back at Ohio State, he’s a dangerous weapon with the football in his hands. He’s already rushed for over 100 yards this year and produced 141 yards after the catch. The Seahawks must know where he is at all times or he’s liable to bust one for a big play on Sunday.
--Seahawks running backs Chris Carson and C.J. Prosise vs. Panthers linebackers Luke Kuechly and Shaq Thompson: For the eighth straight season, Kuechly eclipsed the 100-tackle mark and Thompson reached that milestone for the first time in his career, earning himself a lucrative extension. But despite the play of Carolina’s star linebackers, the unit has been uncharacteristically poor defending the run this season thanks in large part to season-ending injuries to defensive tackles Dontari Poe and Kawann Short. The Panthers have surrendered 1,809 rushing yards this season, the fourth-highest total in the league, while also allowing 19 runs of 20 yards or more, the second-most among 32 teams. The Seahawks are only two weeks removed from gashing the Vikings for 218 yards and coming off a loss, Brown, Ifedi, and the rest of the offensive line should be licking their chops. Seattle should be able to establish the line of scrimmage and as long as Carson holds onto the football, he should be in line for a monster performance. Keep an eye on Prosise as well, especially in the screen game, which could help mitigate Carolina’s aggressive edge rushers.
