Seahawks at Panthers: Odds, trends and more

He was also held to no receptions in October when the Seahawks relied largely on Jimmy Graham, who had his best game of the year with eight receptions for 140 yards.

Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch has made it clear he will not miss Sunday’s divisional-round playoff game against the Carolina Panthers.

Where: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, N.C.

Plus, whether it’s something in the Seattle air or the magic touch of head coach Pete Carroll, this team nearly feels destined to complete this run through the NFC (just ask Vikings’ kicker Blair Walsh). Lynch hasn’t played since November 15 against Arizona. He rejoined the Seahawks last week and practiced fully all three days. It was attended by a few former players as well as other members of the Seahawks family. And a week after deciding he wasn’t ready to play and not joining his teammates in Minnesota, Lynch was one of the last players to step on the team bus on Friday afternoon at the team’s headquarters as it left for the airport. “Yeah, it’s a statement game for us”, Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce says. Seattle won 10-9 to advance to Sunday’s conference semifinals. A game that pits the two best teams in the NFC (in my estimation) really should be played a week later, in the NFC Championship Game on January 24th. Panthers coach Ron Rivera said that the Panthers want to play Seattle’s best because “to be the best you have to beat the best”. “As a outcome, Marshawn is no longer the focal point of the offense”.

Marshawn Lynch is as tough as it gets to take down, and defenders often take “business decisions” when deciding if they should get in his way. He’s somewhat unpredictable in certain ways. Chancellor has been quieter of late, missing the last three regular season games with a pelvis injury. Newton and Wilson present so many unique challenges due to their ability to extend plays. I think we had to realize it just wasn’t flowing right.

The same should be true for Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis against Christine Michael, a big, bruising back like Lynch. “Probably a little bit more tempo to it as well, so we’ll just continue to go day to day with it”, he continued. Five have been decided in the closing seconds, including last Sunday’s victory over Minnesota. A lot of people have said that’s remarkable in itself.

“We’re expecting him to be full tilt”, Newton said of Wagner. “Strategy-wise, it’s not as if Carolina has to change everything defensively now that Lynch will (apparently) be playing”.

Per ESPN, the Seahawks are the #1 defense against the rush and #2 against the pass, and Lynch’s return will surely be boon for a team looking to return to the game’s brightest stage.

They sat around in the aftermath of a fourth loss in six games, this vaunted group of Seattle Seahawks defensive backs, trying to figure out how they could make such a costly mistake. Carolina led the National Football League in takeaways this season, with 39, but the game against Seattle was the one time all year the Panthers didn’t come up with a single takeaway. Not exactly typical numbers for one of the best running backs over the last several years.