Carolina Panthers vs. Seattle Seahawks: Breaking Down Seattle's Game Plan

The Seattle Seahawks will take on the Carolina Panthers for the fourth time in three years on Jan. 10—this time with much more on the line than a regular-season win-loss record. Carolina put together a dominant defensive performance against the Arizona Cardinals on Wild Card Weekend, winning the game 27-16.

The Seahawks beat the Panthers in Week 8 in a tight contest by the score of 13-9, but Carolina appears to have returned to its 2013-14 season form in the latter stages of the season. The Panthers have held their last five opponents to an average of 11.8 points per game and 238.2 yards of offense.

Both teams will be without key players along the defensive line: Star Lotulelei for Carolina and Jordan Hill in Seattle's case. Lotulelei suffered a broken foot during last week's victory. The second-year man was a big part of Carolina's run defense (+2.0) and pass rush (+3.0), grading positively in both categories for Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

Despite a well-earned week of rest, the Seattle Seahawks were forced to place surging defensive tackle Jordan Hill on injured reserve this week. The loss of Hill puts another dent into the already shallow depth chart of the Seahawks. ESPN's Terry Blount has all the details on the injury here.

With Seattle winning the last three meetings by a combined total of 13 points, the game's opening line favoring the Seahawks by 11 points, according to Odds Shark, seems rather high. It has since moved down to 10.5 points, but all signs point to another close game. Here's what Seattle needs to get done to come out of the game victorious yet again.

Carolina Panthers	Category	Seattle Seahawks
346.7 (16th)	Total Offense	375.8 (9th)
21.2 (19th)	Scoring Offense	24.6 (10th)
219.4 (19th)	Passing Offense	203.1 (27th)
7.0 (22nd)	Yards Per Attempt	7.7 (6th)
127.3 (7th)	Rushing Offense	172.6 (1st)
4.3 (13th)	Yards Per Attempt	5.3 (1st)
41.9 (12th)	3rd-Down Percentage	42.5 (11th)
339.8 (10th)	Total Defense	267.1 (1st)
23.4 (21st)	Scoring Defense	15.9 (1st)
227.8 (11th)	Passing Defense	185.6 (1st)
7.0 (12th)	Yards Per Attempt	6.3 (2nd)
112.0 (16th)	Rushing Defense	81.5 (3rd)
4.5 (27th)	Yards Per Attempt	3.4 (2nd)
42.4 (22nd)	3rd-Down Percentage	37.1 (8th)

On Defense

Much of the Panthers' recent success seems to coincide with the team establishing a dominant rushing attack since returning from its Week 12 bye. Over the last six weeks, including a 31-13 loss in Minnesota, Carolina has averaged about 194 yards rushing per game. 

Cam Newton missed one of those games after being injured in a major car crash, but in the games he has participated in over that span, he's averaged more than 56 yards rushing and has three rushing touchdowns.

Despite the broken bones in his back suffered during the car crash, Newton has looked much healthier than he was earlier in the year. Still, he is not 100 percent, as anyone can attest to had he or she watched his nearly constantly pained facial expressions as the game wore on. 

While Jordan Hill was not the most stout defensive tackle in run support, his presence will be missed on passing downs, when he would consistently collapse the pocket and force quarterbacks into the open arms of his teammates. 

Outside linebackers K.J. Wright and Bruce Irvin rate as two of the better run-stoppers in the league, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). They have combined for 42 run stops while missing just six tackles. Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor both excel in stopping the run as well.

The Panthers will likely challenge the rotation of the interior of Seattle's defensive line with two waiver pickups likely set to take snaps. Because the Panthers don't have much in the way of receiving threats, the Seahawks should be able to stack the box with extra defenders.

Jonathan Stewart averaged just shy of five yards per carry with 79 yards on 16 carries, proving to be a serious threat in the game. Expect the Panthers to try to get tight end Greg Olsen more involved after a one-catch outing in the first meeting. The Panthers used a ton of read option in the game as well.

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

On Offense

Yes, the Seahawks won the first meeting and Russell Wilson threw for the only touchdown in the game, but his play in the game was disappointing. Wilson threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to tight end Luke Willson with 47 seconds remaining in the contest, but he was largely inaccurate on his throws and turned the ball over twice.

Marshawn Lynch struggled for most of the game, outside of a 25-yard run in the second half. Seattle's offensive line will have Max Unger in the lineup for the first time since Week 11 to go along with a healthy James Carpenter. It will be the healthiest the offensive line has been in some time.

The Seahawks were going to do it anyway, but they have to do a better job of establishing the running game. The Panthers have a pair of linebackers in Thomas Davis and Luke Kuechly that wreak havoc on Wilson's scrambles. 

On the game-winning drive, Wilson ran the ball twice for 20 yards, bringing his total to 35 yards for the day. If Lynch and Robert Turbin can get going early, Seattle should be able to incorporate more running opportunities for Wilson.

Seattle was able to establish a strong stable of tight ends through the second half of the season and will need the trio of Wilson, Tony Moeaki and Cooper Helfet to stretch the field and draw the attention of Carolina's safeties and linebackers. 

A heavy dose of what should be a strong performance on the ground, combined with some deep passes to the team's tight ends, should be enough to get the offense moving. Based on the low margin of error seen in the two teams' previous meetings, Seattle will need to limit its penalties from the offensive line.