The Seattle Seahawks travel to Bank of America Stadium to face the top-seeded Carolina Panthers in the divisional round of the playoffs. Seattle will look to achieve something that has never happened in the history of their franchise and look to win two consecutive playoff games on the road. The Seahawks fell short against the Panthers back in October, and they know that containing quarterback Cam Newton will be a huge task for their top ranked defense.
The Panthers enter the 2015 playoffs with the best regular season record in the NFL at 15-1, but head coach Ron Rivera will look to make sure his team doesn't sleep on a strong Seahawks team. Newton is the leader on the field for the Panthers offense and is having his best season since being drafted with the first pick by Carolina in 2011.
Newton has thrown over 3,800 yards this season and has a career-high 35 touchdown passes to a career-low 10 interceptions. The Panthers offense runs through Newton, and look for their top-tier quarterback to target his star tight end in Greg Olsen. The Panthers tight end led the team in receiving this season with 77 receptions for 1,104 yards and scored seven touchdowns.
Olsen and wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. are huge playmakers for Carolina's offense and are matchup nightmares for opposing defenses. Ginn Jr. has 10 touchdown receptions on the year and is a consistent deep threat throughout any game. The Panthers offense scored the most points in the NFL this season, and they have been just as impressive on defense, holding opponents to an average of 19.2 points per game.
Star linebacker Luke Kuechly is the leader on the field for the Panthers defense and leads the team with 118 total tackles and a sack. Kuechly and linebacker Thomas Davis can cover both the pass and the run, and they will look to disrupt Seattle's offensive game plan.
While the Panthers defense has been dominant this season, the Seahawks defense finished the 2015 regular season giving up the fewest points per game (18.5) and second least yards allowed. The Seahawks have their own power combination of linebackers in K.J. Wright and Bobby Wagner, and both cover the entire field.
The Seahawks are both strong in coverage and creating a pass rush, but they know how important it will be to contain Newton, as he can take off at any moment and has the arm to throw the deep ball. Seattle struggled to move the ball in the freezing temperatures in Minnesota this past weekend, and head coach Pete Carroll will look for his quarterback Russell Wilson to get the offense rolling on Sunday afternoon.
The Seahawks franchise quarterback is having arguably his best season since entering the league and finished the regular season with a career-high 4,024 passing yards and 34 touchdowns to eight interceptions. Wilson threw the only touchdown in wild card game against Minnesota, but he will likely need a stronger performance if they want to get out of Carolina with a win.
The Seahawks are expected to get star running back Marshawn Lynch back on the field on Sunday, and the powerful Seahawks back could be a difference maker in this playoff matchup. It's unknown if Lynch will be limited, as he hasn't played since November, and running back Christine Michael is likely to see some touches after gaining 172 yards in the Seahawks' past two games.
The Panthers outscored the Seahawks 13-3 in the fourth quarter of their thrilling matchup back in October, which ended with a last minute 26-yard touchdown pass to Olsen. Both teams have only improved since then making Sunday's divisional playoff matchup one of the best of this postseason.
Where To Watch: Fox at 1:05 p.m. Eastern time.
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