Seahawks – Panthers | 3 to watch: Russell Wilson, Greg Olsen, Kam Chancellor

Sometime around mid-season, the Seattle Seahawks began to understand if they were going to make it back to the Super Bowl, they’d have to do it the hard way. Lynch underwent abdominal surgery November 25 in Philadelphia and has spent most of his time since rehabbing in San Francisco.

“Our zone coverages, we should be able to take away all the openings and things like that if we go out there and do what we’re supposed to do”, he said.

Seven times since Pete Carroll’s arrival in 2010, the Seahawks have faced a deficit of nine or more points in playoff games. A year ago they lost to Tom Brady and the Patriots but Seattle ended up blowing the game.

But the most intriguing matchup may be Carolina’s No. 1 scoring offense against Seattle’s defense, which has allowed the fewest points in the league.

“We are in good shape”, Carroll said. Playoff experience and with the next step Russel Wilson took as a QB will be key to a victory over the Carolina Panthers. In what will likely be a close game, holding the Panthers to field goals in the red zone will be crucial. He sits on one hash or sits on another hash and then on the snap of the ball, you see him fly.

If there was a play that defined the first half of the season for the Seattle Seahawks, it came with 32 seconds remaining in Seattle’s Week 6 game against the Carolina Panthers. The Cardinals knocked off Green Bay in a fantastic finish Saturday night, Aaron Rodgers threw another Hail Mary for a touchdown that forced overtime, but two huge plays by Larry Fitzgerald on the opening drive gave Arizona the win. Cornerback Josh Norman has emerged as a game-changer with four interceptions (two returned for touchdowns), 22 passes defensed, 56 tackles, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. I don’t think he was intentionally trying to put me out. The Cam Newton led Panthers will try to continue the magical season Saturday afternoon when the Seattle Seahawks come to Bank of America Stadium. RB Jonathan Stewart returns from a foot injury. “This team was built for this playoff run and I’m looking forward to seeing who we’re going to rise up and be”.

“Cam is 26 years old, he has five years in the league, but he understands this is part of his legacy”, Jones says.

The Seahawks barely escaped Minnesota with a victory last Sunday, but a Blair Walsh blunder helped keep the hopes of a third straight Super Bowl appearance alive.

“That’s why we play the way we play, that’s why we finish the way we finish”, Lockette said. The Panthers may not want to get into a game where first mistake loses with Wilson. After watching the Seahawks get outplayed by a decent, but certainly not great Vikings team, I changed my mind. Of late Wilson has done most of his damage throwing from the pocket.

“When plays were there to have, Greg made plays and made my job a lot easier”, Newton said.

The same should be true for Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis against Christine Michael, a big, bruising back like Lynch.

As Black & Blue Review first reported, the last 10 games of the season for Seattle have been a complete 180 compared to the first seven in terms of their protection of Wilson.