Panthers build 31-0 lead, hold on to beat Seahawks 31-24

The only two Sunday games during the stretch that didn’t cause extra stress for Seattle fans: the 2012 divisional playoff win over Washington, and the Super Bowl blowout victory over Denver in February 2014.

Running back Jonathan Stewart returned to the Carolina lineup for the first time in three games and made his presence felt immediately. The victor will be Panthers QB Cam Newton, who amassed 45 total touchdowns (35 passing, 10 rushing) during the regular season. Both players did most of their damage in the first half. The Cardinals were the trendy pick at the close of the regular season to win the NFC. Greg Olsen had six catches for 77 yards and a touchdown.

Carroll called it a “masterpiece” of a performance by Seattle’s run defense to hold Peterson to 45 yards on 23 carries last week.

The high anxiety reached its peak with 1:12 left, when Steven Hauschka’s 36-yard field goal made it 31-24 and set the stage for the biggest play for the Panthers since reaching the Super Bowl in 2004.

“A lot of us wouldn’t mind going back there to Carolina and playing those guys again since they beat us previous year when we had a lot of injuries”, Cardinals cornerback Justin Bethel said. The first half was a complete disaster. After his second pass of the game was returned by linebacker Luke Kuechly for a touchdown, Wilson finished 31 of 48 for 366 yards with two interceptions and three second-half touchdown throws. In between, the Panthers scored 31 points. An onside kick after that by Seattle was recovered by Carolina.

Arians was asked about the play of Larry Fitzgerald, especially his 75-yard catch on the first play from scrimmage in overtime that got University of Phoenix Stadium rocking.

New England, for instance, had to recover an onside kick Saturday in a similar situation as Carolina – up by a single touchdown very late in the game.

Wilson, who was sacked five times, made some big throws, particularly to Kearse, who had 11 catches for 110 yards. Following the field goal, Carolina’s Tre Boston sacked Wilson for an eight-yard loss on second down.

Since 2012, Seattle has owned the league’s top scoring defense.

Panthers quarterback Cam Newton said he couldn’t have drawn up the fast start any better, but was disappointed the offense was shut out in the second half. He has been rumored to retire or leave the Seahawks at the end of this season. Even earlier, really. Check this NFL.com headline: “Seahawks offensive line issues”.

Yet Seattle’s hopes of staging a miraculous comeback flickered early in the second half when two quick touchdowns at the start of the third quarter reduced the deficit to 31-14. And there were no easy answers afterward about how it all went wrong so quickly. Wilson to Doug Baldwin, Kearse on the sideline and Willson on a dump off got the Seahawks to the Carolina 43. ” The Seahawks were 2-2 at that point, then dropped their next two games to fall to 2-4. But there’s things that we’ve got to go back and huddle up and be better with”. It didn’t matter as the Panthers forced another punt four plays later – and guarded against a fake the second time.