The Seahawks moved another step closer to securing the No. 1 seed in the NFC with a 27-10 win over the Panthers on Sunday.
Seattle (13-3) will be the top seed with a win over the 49ers next week. The Panthers, meanwhile, fell to 8-8 and will play the Buccaneers for the NFC South title next week.
The Seahawks defense smothered the Panthers, limiting them to 52 plays, 139 yards and 10 first downs. Carolina was 1-for-11 on third down.
The Panthers had two turnovers in four plays in the third quarter, with Chuba Hubbard losing a fumble and Bryce Young throwing an interception. The Seahawks converted the short fields into touchdown drives of 21 and 29 yards in a 3-minute, 13-second span to take a 17-3 lead.
In their first six drives, the Seahawks had a field goal, turned it over on downs, punted twice, threw an interception and lost a fumble. But they scored on their next four possessions, with Zach Charbonnet getting touchdowns runs of 2 yards and 1 yard, AJ Barner catching a 17-yard pass from Sam Darnold for a touchdown and Jason Myers kicking a 30-yard field goal.
The Seahawks gained 288 yards, with Darnold going 18-of-27 for 147 yards with a touchdown, an interception and a lost fumble. Charbonnet ran for 110 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught nine passes for 72 yards.
DeMarcus Lawrence had six tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery, and Julian Love had an interception of Young.
Young was 14-of-24 for 54 yards and a pick. Rico Dowdle had 12 carries for 59 yards, and Chuba Hubbard had four carries for 12 yards and a lost fumble.
Bryce Young has not had a good day, but he has the Panthers back in the game.
The quarterback ran for a 10-yard touchdown with 13:41 left in the fourth quarter, drawing the Panthers within 17-10 of the Seahawks.
The Panthers drove 69 yards in 13 plays, by far their best possession of the day, to reach the end zone for the first time today.
Young converted a fourth-and-1 on the drive from his own 40 on a scramble for 8 yards.
He completed 6 of 7 passes on the drive for 33 yards after starting his day 7-for-16 for 16 yards and a pick.
The Seahawks converted his interception into a short touchdown drive that gave them a 17-3 lead.
Bryce Young has had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
He has completed 7 of 16 passes for 16 yards and an interception, which the Seahawks have converted into a big day and maybe lights out for the Panthers today.
Seahawks safety Julian Love intercepted Young’s pass intended for Tetairoa McMillan and returned it 26 yards to the Carolina 29. The Seahawks needed four plays to reach the end zone, with AJ Barner catching a 17-yard touchdown pass from Sam Darnold.
The Panthers have had two turnovers in four plays, with Chuba Hubbard losing a fumble on the first play of the previous drive, and the Seahawks have two short touchdown drives in 3 minutes and 13 seconds to take a 17-3 lead.
Zach Charbonnet converted the Hubbard fumble into a touchdown on a 2-yard run.
The teams were tied 3-3 at halftime.
The Seahawks and Panthers are playing one of the weirdest, wildest and arguably worst games of the season.
In a game between two teams with something on the line, Seattle has finally scored the first touchdown of the day with 8:45 remaining in the third quarter. The Seahawks lead 10-3.
Zach Charbonnet’s 2-yard run on third-and-goal came after back-to-back turnovers.
Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold threw an interception to Seahawks cornerback Mike Jackson in the end zone after Seattle reached the Carolina 18. Replay upheld the pick by the former Seahawk.
The Seahawks defense then bailed out Darnold.
On the next play, DeMarcus Lawrence forced and recovered a Chuba Hubbard fumble at the Carolina 22. Officials originally gave Lawrence a 21-yard touchdown return, but replay overruled it after Lawrence clearly was touched down.
The Seahawks needed six plays to put it in the end zone.
The Seahawks and Panthers are locked in a defensive battle in Charlotte.
They have combined for six points, 11 first downs, 187 yards, five punts and a turnover. They are 3-for-14 on third down and 0-for-1 on fourth down.
The teams are tied 3-3 at halftime.
The Seahawks got into Panthers territory twice in five possessions. Jason Myers kicked a 48-yard field goal after Seattle stalled at the Carolina 30, and Sam Darnold failed to get the yard necessary on fourth down at the Carolina 39 in the closing seconds of the first half.
The Panthers, who have only 65 yards, likely wouldn’t have scored in the first half if not for Darnold’s fumble.
Panthers rookie edge rusher Nic Scourton hit Darnold’s arm, forcing the ball loose. A’Shawn Robinson recovered at the Seattle 37. After a review, replay upheld the on-field call with a close call about whether Darnold’s arm was moving forward before the ball came loose.
The Panthers had a four-play, 9-yard drive, settling for a 35-yard Ryan Fitzgerald field goal and a tie game.
Darnold is 8-of-14 for 56 yards, and Kenneth Walker has nine carries for 44 yards. Jaxon Smith-Njigba has five catches for 32 yards.
Bryce Young has completed 7 of 14 passes for 16 yards, and Rico Dowdle has seven carries for 33 yards.
The Panthers have lost cornerback Robert Rochell (concussion) and tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders (ankle). The Seahawks list wide receiver Cody White (groin) as doubtful to return, and Pro Bowl kick returner Rashid Shaheed has not returned since leaving for a concussion check early in the second quarter.
