Panthers vs. Seahawks: Carolina Grades, Notes and Quotes

Still doubt that the Carolina Panthers are for real?

In a tough, physical matchup in Seattle, the Panthers exorcised years of demonic post-bye week defeats and heartbreaking losses to the Seahawks to win, 27-23.  It required a late rally, but the Panthers were able to finally get a win over the team that has been a thorn in their side since Russell Wilson entered the league in 2012.

This was a signature win for the franchise.  The media in general hadn’t really bought into the Panthers, pointing out that their 4-0 start came against a rather soft schedule.  This is absolutely a fact, but it was out of Carolina’s control—you play the schedule you have in front of you.  The prevailing wisdom, then, would be that when confronted with the struggling, but historically better Seahawks franchise, they’d fall back into their same old patterns.

To get the win, they relied on their best offensive players and attacked Seattle’s biggest weakness.  Seattle has struggled to cover tight ends all season long, and it was Greg Olsen who caught Cam Newton’s game-winning touchdown with just 32 seconds left on the clock.  Olsen finished the day with seven receptions and 131 yards, nearly half of Carolina’s passing offense on the day.  Whenever the Panthers needed a clutch reception, Olsen was there.

Thanks to an Atlanta Falcons loss earlier this week, Carolina now strides firmly into first place in the division and should quiet its critics for at least a week or two.  While tough games remain on the schedule, this looked to be Carolina’s biggest challenge remaining, and it more than rose to meet it.

Cam Newton recovered from a couple of interceptions to march the Panthers on four 80-yard scoring drives.  The Seahawks took a late lead with some trickery, executing a flea-flicker to perfection to take a two-score lead into the fourth quarter, but Carolina scored 13 points in the fourth frame to seal the victory.

Here are more rapid reactions and quotes from the huge win.

Grades

Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

Luke Kuechly led the team in tackles in his first game back.

Position	Grade
QB	B-
RB	B
WR	D+
TE	A+
OL	B-
DL	B
LB	B+
DB	C
Special Teams	C
Coaching	B+

Quarterbacks

This was set to be a very low grade for most of the game, as Newton struggled mightily in the first half, ending with an 11.1 quarterback rating after 30 minutes.  However, he came back strong in the second half, finishing the game 20-of-36 passing for 269 yards and a touchdown, with two interceptions, adding 30 yards rushing on the ground.  We’ll split the difference and give him a bit of a nod for a great game-winning drive.

Running Backs

It was tough sledding for Jonathan Stewart in this one, as he averaged just 3.9 yards per carry, finishing with 78 yards.  That did include two touchdowns, however, and he fought for every one of those yards, battling a very tough Seattle defense in order to pick them up.  It’s not a game that will go on his highlight reel, but he was effective when he had to be.

Wide Receivers

No receiver had more than 24 yards receiving on the day, and Devin Funchess only got that after a trio of drops earlier in the game.  Still, Newton stuck with him, and Funchess made some highlight-reel catches late on the drives that brought Carolina back into the game.

Tight Ends

Greg Olsen’s 131 yards on seven receptions led Carolina’s receivers, and Ed Dickson added three key catches as well.  It was all Olsen, however—Seattle has struggled mightily stopping tight ends so far this season, and Olsen was able to take advantage of a favorable matchup.

Offensive Line

Things started poorly, with Michael Oher letting Bruce Irvin blow right past him for a sack on the first drive of the game.  They allowed three sacks in all, and six quarterback hits, as Seattle’s ferocious pass rush clamped down.  They also were limited to just 4.1 yards rushing—but that actually represents an improvement over their season averages.  Considering the level of challenge facing this defense, the offensive line came out of this relatively unscathed.

Defensive Line

The defensive line brought Russell Wilson down four times, with Kawann Short racking up two of them and Wes Horton adding another.  Kony Ealy didn’t have a sack but made a couple of key tackles and hit Wilson a couple of times of his own.  They also limited Seattle to 115 yards on the ground, holding Marshawn Lynch to just 54 yards rushing.

Linebackers

It was nice to see Luke Kuechly on the field, and he was very much involved early and often.  He led both teams with 14 tackles, albeit just five solo, and his leadership was clear on the field.  Thomas Davis had eight tackles and a sack, and nearly a game-changing interception, while Shaq Thompson forced Wilson to scramble on multiple occasions before leaving the game with a knee injury.

Defensive Backs

A good grade for the cornerbacks.  I’m not sure Josh Norman was ever seriously challenged by the Seahawks, and the receivers combined for just six receptions on the day, with one coming on a trick play.  The safeties, however, had a terrible time stopping Jimmy Graham.  The tight end, who has been a thorn in Carolina’s side for years at this point, had eight receptions for 140 yards.

Special Teams

Graham Gano missed an extra point that could have loomed huge, keeping the Panthers down three points rather than two entering their last drive, and the Panthers had no return game to speak of.  They prevented the Seahawks from having any returns of note, and Brad Nortman was strong in the field position game to keep Carolina in the game.

Coaching

Ron Rivera made the right call to go for it on a 4th-and-inches play late in the second half, but the call for a play-action pass, rather than running up the gut, was questionable.  There were a couple more fourth-down calls in the third and fourth quarters where Rivera was conservative, punting the ball away when the team needed a spark.  It’s hard to criticize too much, however, when the team put up a big win like this.

Streaks End

Elaine Thompson/Associated Press

Ron Rivera's Panthers broke several negative streaks on Sunday.

The Carolina Panthers had never won after a bye week in Ron Rivera’s tenure.  Including a bye week before the playoffs in 2013, the Panthers were 0-5 after a week off, being outscored 125-46 in those contests.  The victory over Seattle breaks that streak.

The Carolina Panthers had lost the last five games against the Seattle Seahawks, being outscored 103-59 in those contests.  They had come agonizingly close in each of the three games in Carolina, but the two games in Seattle had been less close affairs.  Sunday's victory over Seattle breaks that streak.

The Carolina Panthers had only once managed to get to 5-0 on a season—in the Super Bowl season of 2003.  Other than that, they had never started better than 3-0.  The victory over Seattle ties that franchise mark.

In other words, the Panthers had a lot of recent history suggesting that they wouldn’t be able to come out on top in this one, in addition to the general perception around the league that they had played a soft schedule.  Carolina managed to overcome all of those trends to remain undefeated and take sole possession of the lead in the NFC South.

One streak that continued was one for Seattle.  In all four of its losses this season, Seattle has had a lead in the fourth quarter.  Yet again, however, the Seahawks allowed their opponents to score a come-from-behind victory.  That was one streak Carolina didn’t mind extending.

No Love Lost Between Carolina and Seattle

Stephen Brashear/Associated Press

This was a bruising, physical matchup.

To say the game was chippy would be an understatement.  On several occasions, the teams had to be physically separated, and there were multiple fouls for unsportsmanlike conduct, especially early in the game.

Some of this can be expected in what was a rough, physical defensive battle.  Both quarterbacks had a hard time getting anything going, with a combined seven sacks and five more hits on the quarterback by both sides.  It was the sort of game you don’t just win—you survive.  Seattle’s biggest play was a trick—a quasi-flea-flicker from Marshawn Lynch to Russell Wilson to Ricardo Lockette, who out-leaped Kurt Coleman for a touchdown.  Most standard offensive strategies ended up running into a wall of defenders, with both Lynch and Jonathan Stewart having to work extremely hard to eke out anything on the ground.

Before the game, several Panthers, including Thomas Davis, rejected the idea that the number of recent Panthers-Seahawks games constitutes a rivalry.  “This is the NFL. We don’t worry about rivalries,” Davis said, per the Herald. “This ain’t college football.”

You wouldn’t be convinced from watching the game on Sunday.  Though Seattle had won five consecutive games coming in, this had the feeling of a divisional rivalry.  Exacerbating that was Jimmy Graham, the ex-Saint who brought his old rivalry with the Panthers into this one.  He had a big game, as well—eight catches and 140 yards.  He also had one of the unsportsmanlike-conduct calls, ripping players off of a pile early in the game.

Of course, a real rivalry can’t form until both teams get a win, and that’s exactly what Carolina did on Sunday.  Marching into enemy territory and picking up a win in the toughest place to play in football is a massive statement.  This is officially a rivalry now, no matter what the players say.

An Early Wake-Up Call for Carolina

Nick Ut/Associated Press

Someone set off the fire alarm in Carolina's hotel.

It likely didn’t play any role in the final outcome, but Carolina had an early wake-up call before the game this week.

At approximately 5:40 AM local time—or 8:40 in the morning back home in Carolina—a fire alarm was pulled at the team’s hotel in Seattle.  The fire alarm reportedly only affected the floors the team was staying on, and the players were moved to meeting rooms on the first floor before an all-clear could be announced about 20 minutes later.

“Obviously, this is an issue that directly affects our club,” a team spokesman said, via NFL.com. “We will let the hotel and the League investigate.”

It’s worth noting that this is not the first time Seahawks opponents have found themselves huddling outside in the early morning hours due to suspicious fire alarms.  It happened twice to the New England Patriots before the Super Bowl last year.

While the Panthers are upset with the situation and asking for the league to investigate, it is highly unlikely that the Seahawks directly were involved, or that any sort of punishment would be handed down.  It’s certainly not anything unique to Seattle—visiting teams are woken up by fire alarms once or twice a season.  It’s antagonizing and juvenile, but there’s not much the league can do about it, other than make half a dozen Sleepless in Seattle jokes.

Ron Rivera: One of the Biggest Victories We’ve Had

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

Rivera had tons of praise for his guys after the win.

Head coach Ron Rivera was very pleased with his team’s performance on Sunday, as you might expect, and he didn’t mince words when asked how big of a victory it was.

According to the Black and Blue Review, Rivera said that, “This was one of the biggest victories we’ve had since I’ve been here,” and it’s hard to argue too strenuously with that fact.

Which win might be bigger?  There’s last year’s win over the Arizona Cardinals in the playoffs, of course, and the Panthers have had seven other wins over playoff-bound teams in Rivera’s tenure, including road wins in Houston, Washington and San Francisco.

However, considering the recent history between the Panthers and Seahawks and the difficulty of playing in CenturyLink, it’s hard to think of too many that have been bigger.  The Panthers exorcised quite a few demons with this victory.

Cam Newton: “A Game of Resiliency”

Elaine Thompson/Associated Press

Cam Newton and company bounced back from early struggles.

If you could pick one noun to describe this victory, “resiliency” would likely be it.  Carolina got through early game struggles and put together a thrilling, come-from-behind victory.  That was what Cam Newton highlighted in the postgame press conference, at least.

"I'm so proud of everybody. We could have packed up when they went up by two scores,” Newton said, per Max Henson of Panthers.com. “It's a game of resiliency."

“Hopefully,” Newton added, “this is a big boost for us.  But the season doesn’t stop here.”

Newton definitely was resilient in this one—he threw two early interceptions, though the second one was due to him being slammed to the turf as he threw.  He fought through that to put up a respectable line and put together a thrilling game-winning drive late in the fourth.

He also trusted his teammates to bounce back, as well.  Some quarterbacks would have gone away from Devin Funchess after he dropped some very catchable passes earlier in the game.  Instead, Newton continued to go to him, and Funchess made some key receptions late to help keep drives alive.

Thomas Davis Fires Back at Jimmy Graham

Stephen Brashear/Associated Press

Thomas Davis had plenty to say about Jimmy Graham this week.

Thomas Davis and Jimmy Graham do not seem to like each other very much.  Davis sniped at Graham several times in the lead-up to this game, as he was asked plenty of questions about the matchup due to a fine Davis received for a particularly hard hit on Graham last season.

“Jimmy Graham," Davis said before the game, per ESPN's David Newton. “I knew that question was coming. [New Orleans quarterback] Drew Brees makes Jimmy Graham a different player. If you look at the numbers so far, I don’t think he’s ever had a start this slow, production-wise.’’

Well, Graham had his production in this one—eight receptions for 140 yards.  Did that change Davis’ opinion?  Not so much, according to the News & Observer's Joseph Person:

“He’s probably one of those guys who is excited about his production and not worried about his team losing,” Davis was quoted as saying after the game.

Graham hasn’t been happy with the Seahawks so far, with reports indicating he is frustrated with his role in Seattle, per B/R’s Mike Freeman.  This was his first big game in Seattle, but it’s hard to imagine he’s particularly satisfied with his team’s 2-4 start.

Bryan Knowles is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report, covering the Carolina Panthers.  Follow him @BryKno on twitter.