Jonathan Stewart Is the Secret to the Carolina Panthers' Recent Success

The Carolina Panthers are one of the few teams in the NFL with a running back who can compete for the title of "Beast Mode."

While the Seattle Seahawks' Marshawn Lynch is synonymous with the nickname due to his physical running style, the Panthers' Jonathan Stewart should be considered the East Coast version.

When Stewart is fully healthy, very few running backs are as physical or tougher to take down than the Oregon product.

At 235 pounds, Stewart is third-heaviest starting running back in the NFL and an absolute load to tackle. A former teammate at the University of Oregon and current Seahawk center Max Unger discussed his experience blocking for Stewart in college. 

"He was an animal," Unger told Seahawks.com's Tony Drovetto. "A guy that would just never go down."

Among NFL running backs with over 500 snaps this season, Stewart finished eighth overall with an average of 2.6 yards after contact, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Lynch led the group with 3.0 yards after contact.

"Just picture myself but twice as fast," 245-pound Panthers fullback Mike Tolbert told ESPN.com's David Newton in early December when asked about trying to tackle Stewart. "It's one of those things where he's a hell of an athlete. 

"When you get a healthy Jonathan Stewart you get a lot of production." 

Stewart's reemergence in the offense and strong performances over the past five weeks helped make the Panthers' current playoff run possible.

Through the first three months of the season, Stewart dealt with a sprained knee and split carries with DeAngelo Williams. The sixth-year back carried the ball just 96 times for 408 yards over that time period. The Panthers were 2-7 overall in the games Stewart played.

Fast forward to December, when Stewart was finally given the opportunity to hit his stride after Williams suffered a broken hand against the Minnesota Vikings on Nov. 30. 

As the Panthers' new-found workhorse, Stewart has carried the ball 103 times for 524 yards in the previous five games. Carolina won five straight games, claimed the NFC South title and a first-round playoff victory with the improved rushing attack.

Stewart is living the good life at the moment.

He led his team with 123 rushing yards—the second-highest playoff total in Panthers team history—on its way to a playoff win against the Arizona Cardinals. Stewart rumbled, danced and spun his way through a physical Cardinals defense.

The team's official Twitter feed provided video of Stewart's impressive 13-yard pirouette into the end zone: 

Plus, Stewart's alma mater, the University of Oregon, won the Rose Bowl and earned a berth to the first playoff-based National Championship Game. 

To top it all off, the running back returns to his home state Saturday in an attempt to dethrone the reigning Super Bowl champions.

The Seahawks will be prepared for Stewart, though.  

"That's the first guy we talked about in the running game," Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll told Drovetto. 

The former head coach of the USC Trojans certainly owns a healthy respect for the Panthers running back, dating back to their Pac-10 days. 

Carroll once attempted to recruit Stewart to play for USC, and he's admired him from afar ever since: 

"

He's a fantastic football player. I've always loved this kid [and] the way he runs. He's always been a guy that has a knack to just keep getting through tackles.

He looks like he should go down. A lot of guys get tackled and he just keeps going. He's got great lower-body strength, he's got an explosion to him that allows him to bounce and separate from tacklers, and he has good enough speed to break plays. He's a good catcher as well, he'll block you. He's a terrific football player.

"

During the previous meeting between the two teams, Stewart was limited but effective against the NFL's third-ranked rushing defense. The running back averaged a healthy 4.9 yards per carry during the Panthers' 13-9 loss to the Seahawks in October. His 79 rushing yards accounted for almost 30 percent of the team's total offense.

If Panthers quarterback Cam Newton can't effectively establish a consistent passing threat behind center—and it will be difficult against Seattle's "Legion of Boom" secondary, which ranks first overall in pass defense—Stewart's ability to carry the offense will be crucial to the team's success. 

Below are three runs that highlight Stewart's importance to Carolina's offense. 

Panthers offensive coordinator Mike Shula committed to the run early against the Seahawks, and nine of Stewart's 16 carries came in the first half.

The Panthers were even able to run against a stacked box. In the example below, nine Seahawks lined up near the line of scrimmage:

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Seahawks linebacker Malcolm Smith shot the gap and came through unblocked after Stewart accepted the handoff. Instead of being tackled for a loss, the running back created positive yardage by making the linebacker miss: 

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Linebacker K.J. Wright was forced to scrape over the top and make the tackle after a five-yard gain. 

The ability to make a defender miss in the hole reminds everyone how athletic the 235-pound back really is. However, the power with which he runs the football can be very impressive. 

Below is an 11-yard gain by Stewart. The Panthers offensive line created a nice hole, but a pair of linebackers converged in an attempt to make the tackle: 

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Neither was successful. 

Stewart spun out of the tag-team tackle, which required safety Earl Thomas to trip up the runaway freight train of a running back. 

Carolina's longest run of the afternoon was also generated by Stewart's power after initial contact. 

Newton gave Stewart the ball on the first offensive play of the second half. It was a toss sweep that allowed the running back to test the edges of Seattle's talented defense. 

Initial contact on the running back occurred near the 50-yard line. Thirteen yards later, Stewart was tackled by a pair of Seahawks.  

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

In the picture above, Stewart was already engaged with one Seattle defender (as well as Panthers center Ryan Kalil). A second Seahawk defender was about to make contact as well. 

Stewart carried two defenders fives yards before finally falling. 

The running back's combination of athleticism and power is rare, and it's absolutely vital for the Panthers to take advantage of both in order to win a game at the NFL's most intimidating venue, CenturyLink Field.

Carolina's struggles in the red zone and Newton's inconsistency as a passer place the Panthers at a distinct disadvantage against the NFC's No. 1 seed. Despite these issues, the Panthers still led the Seahawks 9-6 with four minutes remaining of the teams' previous meeting. The defense wasn't able to make a late stop, and the game slipped away. 

Neither is the same team the other faced two months ago. One of those teams needs to unleash the beast on Saturday, and it isn't Seattle.

A commitment to the running game with Stewart as the Panthers' feature back will allow Carolina to compete in a game in which it certainly isn't favored.

Brent Sobleski covers the NFC South for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter.