NFL analyst points to 'substantial' playoff implications for Seahawks-Panthers game

One major positive change going from Pete Carroll to Mike Macdonald as the Seattle Seahawks' head coach is the absence of losing games that they should win.

In the latter years of the Carroll era when the Legion of Boom was long-since finished, disappointing losses to inferior teams became a regular occurrence.

So far this season the Seahawks have managed to avoid any of those play-down-to-your-opponent type of losses, with their only failures coming against the 49ers, Rams and the Buccaneers before their ongoing implosion.

As strong as they look, it would be a mistake to look past this Carolina Panthers team that they will be visiting on Sunday. This same Panthers team has already upset two NFC-leaders already this season. In addition, this week's game carries major playoff implications. Heres Ali Bahanpuri at NFL.com breaking down the scenarios.

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"If the Seahawks top the Panthers during Sunday's early window, and then the Bears win at San Francisco later that night, then the 49ers would be eliminated from NFC West contention and, thus, be relegated to a wild-card spot. With little seeding incentive remaining for the Niners in their Week 18 H2H vs. the 'Hawks -- other than to possibly move from No. 6 to No. 5 in the standings -- Kyle Shanahan might opt to rest his starters, clearing the way for Seattle to seize the conference title in the season finale. So while the playoff leverage featured in Seahawks-Panthers isn't the highest for Week 17 (19%), that matchup actually has substantial implications on the overall conference race."

Sep 24, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jake Bobo (19) catches a touchdown pass against Carolina Panthers cornerback Donte Jackson (26) during the fourth quarter at Lumen Field. | Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

On paper, the Seahawks match up relatively well against the Panthers and the few things that they do well. The key will be shutting down Rico Dowdle and Carolina's run game and forcing Bryce Young to beat them over the top.

When that happens, Young only has only legitimate target who's worth throwing to with any consistency. If Seattle's secondary can shut down rookie wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan as well as containing Dowdle, the Panthers won't have any reliable weapons left to carry them.

Wild cards for Carolina's offense include second-year wide receiver Jalen Coker, whose numbers belie a strong connection with Bryce Young - and rookie tight end Mitchell Evans, who deserves a lot more attention than he's gotten to date in their offense.

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