Week 3 preview and prediction: Seahawks vs. Panthers

It is Week 3 and the Seattle Seahawks are back home to face off against the Carolina Panthers. It isn’t any other ordinary home game for the Seahawks, it is a celebratory one. Seattle has chosen this Week 3 matchup to honor the 10th anniversary of their Super Bowl XLVIII championship winning team.

It is only fitting they selected the Panthers game as the time to celebrate, as it was Carolina who the Seahawks played in Week 1 of the 2013 season. Seattle claimed a hard-fought 12-7 victory over the Panthers on the road.

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Sunday also marks the first time in franchise history the Seahawks will be wearing their white jerseys at home. The white jersey/blue pants combination is what the team wore when they obliterated the Denver Broncos 43-8 to hoist their first Lombardi Trophy.

However, don’t expect a similar Super Bowl-style blowout against this Panthers team. Carolina may be 0-2, but they hardly bottom feeders. In fact, this team marched into Lumen Field and clean Seattle’s clock in a 30-24 road upset.

Making things more complicated for the Seahawks is the fact backup Andy Dalton will be starting in place of the injured Bryce Young. For whatever reason, backup quarterbacks have given Seattle fits over the years under Pete Carroll, including last year when Dalton’s Saints beat the Seahawks.

This will be a legitimate test for Seattle’s run defense, who was ran over by Carolina to the tune of 223 yards on the ground last year. The Seahawks look improved in this department, but we’ll see how much shortly.

Prediction: Seahawks over Panthers 26-24

This won’t be easy for Seattle, but when are things ever easy for this team, especially against the Panthers? Dating back to 2012, eight of the last ten matchups between these two teams have been decided by a single score, including the last two, which were both identical 30-24 wins – split between them.

However, I do believe the Seahawks are finding their way after a major stumble in Week 1. Seattle’s offense is red hot following their explosive overtime win over the Lions in Week 2. While the defense still has work to do, but they are opportunistic. The pass rush will need to take advantage against the immobile Dalton to force a few more key turnovers.

The Seahawks are the better team, and they’re more desperate for a win to keep pace with the resurgent Rams and the juggernaut 49ers. If there was ever a day to show up for the 12th Man, it would be on the day to honor the franchise’s lone Lombardi.

Current series history: Seahawks lead 10-5 all time