Seahawks set yet another franchise record in win over Panthers

When the NFL went from a sixteen game regular season to a seventeen game one in 2021, it was assumed that a lot of volume-based records would fall over the next few years. An extra game meant extra opportunities to accumulate yards, touchdowns, tackles, or in this case, points. However, this particular record has gone down without the benefit of the extra game.

When the final whistle blew for the Seattle Seahawks’ game against the Carolina Panthers today, the team had officially set a franchise record for points scored in a season. They actually set the record in the third quarter on a Sam Darnold 17 yard touchdown pass to A.J. Barner, the extra point after giving them 460 points on the year, breaking the 2020 mark of 459.

They ended up with 470, meaning they have the record with room to spare. They can aim for the ambitious milestone of 500 next week against the San Francisco 49ers, needing 30 points, a difficult but doable task. Regardless of what happens next week, however, this is a record worth celebrating, particularly when you consider how they’ve managed it.

Seattle’s offense has been stymied in many recent first halves, a mix of turnovers and poor execution up front limiting them to mostly a smattering of field goals. It’s not the kind of offense you would expect to break a major record like this, even if they typically turn it on later in the game. You can thank the defense and special teams for picking up some of the slack.

Seattle has seven non-offensive touchdowns this season, three defensive (two Lawrence fumble returns and a Jones pick six) and four special teams (Holani kickoff recovery, Horton punt return, Shaheed kick return, Shaheed punt return). Seattle leads the league in these, and without the benefit of these big plays would be a long way off from the record.

It goes to show how many different ways this Seattle team can beat you, versatility that will hopefully pay dividends in the postseason, and perhaps will remind you of Seattle 2013 championship squad, who scored via defense and special teams in the Super Bowl to seal away a blowout.

Couldn't have done it without this guy. — Seattle Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet (26) runs the ball against Carolina Panthers cornerback Chau Smith-Wade (26) (obscured) during the first quarter. | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Also, it bears noting that the 2020 Seahawks, who held the record before today, benefitted from the effects of the COVID-19 season, which put defenses behind the eight-ball for much of the season and saw record scoring across the league. Seattle was eighth in scoring that season, meaning that relative to the rest of the league they’ve been better several times.

Most would likely consider the 2005 Seahawks to be the best scoring team in franchise history, scoring 452 points and finishing first in the league, nearly a full point per game ahead of second place Indianapolis. Seattle has an uphill battle to match that, as they currently sit a point per game behind the Rams for first, but it remains within reach for the time being.

Also of note is Seattle managing this franchise record despite being second in the league in turnovers, adding to that dubious moniker with two more today. There’s a lesson there about how turnovers are okay as long as you’re productive with your non-turnover drives, and Seattle has certainly been that.

Next week, Seattle will attempt to set an even bigger franchise record with a fourteenth win, a total they’ve never reached previously in any regular season.

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