The Seattle Seahawks are back at home this week and will be hosting the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
Here are nine things to know heading into this week’s matchup between Carolina and Seattle.
1
Geno Smith is off to another hot start
While the second half against the Rams was a total bummer for the Seahawks offense, it certainly wasn’t Geno Smith’s fault. Also, aside from those two quiet quarters he’s been brilliant. Heading into Week 3 Smith ranks in the top 10 in completion percentage (71.6%), touchdown passes (four), passer rating (104.1) and QBR (65.2).
2
The Carolina Panthers are not
The Panthers have a ton of young talent – especially on defense. However, they’ve gotten off to a slow start so far in 2023. Carolina comes into this matchup 0-2, having lost to the Falcons by two touchdowns and only scoring 17 points against the Saints. Their troubles are particularly bad at wide receiver, where they may be thinner than any other NFL team.
3
No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young is out for Panthers
If you were looking forward to seeing the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft playing, you’re going to be disappointed. Former Alabama quarterback Bryce Young has been ruled out for this week’s game due to an ankle injury.
4
Andy Dalton will start for Carolina instead
Instead, the Panthers will be starting veteran QB Andy Dalton, who’s been bouncing around the league serving as a backup since he left the Bengals back in 2019. Dalton is 3-1 in his career against the Seahawks and 83-77-2 overall as a starter.
5
Why that's bad news for the Seahawks
While Dalton doesn’t strike fear in the hearts of most rational people, Seahawks fans are not that and they have a bad history of getting burned by game managers and backup QBs. Colt McCoy is the worst of them, but fans are already fretting about potentially being upset by Dalton.
6
Seattle's run defense has (really) improved
While there’s plenty of reason to be anxious about their passing defense, the Seahawks have totally turned things around from last season when it comes to stopping the run. Thanks mostly to the return of Bobby Wagner their run defense has dramatically improved. In 2022 they ranked No. 26 in the league in yards allowed per carry (4.9) but this year that number is down to just 2.9 yards per attempt – the third-fewest in the league.
7
Expect the Panthers to test that, though
Teams that like to run the ball on principle tend not to care how good you are at stopping it, though. Frank Reich’s Carolina team has a run-first kind of offense, the same as it was during his time with the Colts. Despite playing from behind for practically the entire season so far, the Panthers have run the ball on almost 40% of their offensive snaps.
8
The all-time series history favors the Seahawks
While these teams have changed a ton since the days when Cam Newton was trying to take down the Leigon of Boom, the all-time series history heavily favors the Seahawks. They are 10-5 all-time against the Panthers, including 8-3 during the Pete Carroll era (2010-present).
9
Carolina upset Seattle last season, though
Then again, that era might as well be ancient history in football terms. When these teams met last season the Seahawks were considered favorites at home over the Panthers but they still managed to lose 30-24 despite Carolina getting just 120 passing yards from Sam Darnold.
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