Panthers Visit Seahawks in Sunday NFL Action

Seattle is 10-1 ATS in their last 11 week 13 matchups and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 home games against a team with a losing road record while the under is 4-0 in their last 4 vs. the NFC.

On the one hand, the Seahawks are fine. They need a lot of help to make the playoffs, but Ron Rivera, Cam Newton, and the rest of the team is exclusively focused on just getting the next win.

This Sunday’s matchup between the defending NFC Champion Carolina Panthers and the Seattle Seahawks was seen at the beginning of the season as one of the marquee games of 2016. Rees Odhiambo is active as the backup tackle in part because he can also play guard.

So for those who hadn’t noticed already, the NFC playoff hunt is on.

But ever since that disheartening loss to the Denver Broncos back in February, just about everything has gone wrong for the Panthers. Only one player, left guard Andrew Norwell, is playing the same position where he began the season.

The Seahawks were missing five starters for last week’s game at Tampa Bay, four of them on defense.

PANTHERS Newton has been sacked 27 times (twice in Week 12) after being dumped only 33 times all of a year ago.

Rawls came into the game with just 120 yards on 45 carries (2.67 yards per carry). The Panthers, along with boasting Cam Newton, retain a strong pass rush on defense and are 5-1-1 ATS in their last seven games as an underdog of seven points or more. This year, Newton has passed for just 2,432 yards and 13 touchdowns, while also tossing eight interceptions. For a team that made the Super Bowl a year ago, that is a far fall from grace, especially when you consider the valuable experience added to a youthful and talented squad. Down 23-14, Carolina went 80 yards on each of its final two possessions for touchdowns. Davis is second on team with 71 tackles.

The Panthers elected to stay in the Bay Area this week to practice at San Jose State and cut down on travel time with consecutive games on the West Coast. Linebacker Luke Kuechly might miss another game with a concussion, giving quarterback Russell Wilson a chance to put up some big numbers. While it’s unclear if Kuechly will be available after suffering an apparent concussion November 17, the encouraging aspect was that he traveled with the Panthers to the West Coast and was on the sideline (though not in uniform) for the Oakland game.

Coming off a game Sunday where they lost their fifth contest by three points or less to the Oakland Raiders, the Panthers placed two of their centers on injured reserve, ending their season. They have not looked the like team that went 15-1 last season, and a loss on Sunday will probably be the last nail in their season’s coffin. Despite the injuries, some of them major, the Panthers overcame adversity and rode momentum to the Super Bowl. Jermaine Kearse and 2nd year player Tyler Lockett have combined for almost 700 yards.