By David Rogers. SEATTLE, Wash. — What started as a battle of football field goals in the first half and well into the third quart of the NFL game between the Carolina Panthers and Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 24, quickly morphed into a TD fest of the home team at Lumen Field.
Carolina’s 13-12 halftime lead didn’t last long in the second half. With just under 10 minutes remaining in the third quarter, Seahawks placekicker Jason Myers slotted his fifth field goal to put Seattle ahead, 15-13. Then, two TD scores by running back Kenneth Walker III and a 5-yard pass from Seattle QB Geno Smith to former undrafted free agent wide receiver Jake Bobo proved too much for the visiting Panthers to overcome.
It’s not as if the Panthers didn’t try. Besides the two 4th quarter touchdowns — one a plunge across the goal line by running back Miles Sanders and the final one a 15-yard wrestling pass TD to Adam Thielen from backup QB Andy Dalton — Carolina’s offense was, on the surface at least, productive.
Dalton, called to action after 2023 NFL Draft No. 1 draft pick injured an ankle a week ago against the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football, passed for 361 yards and two touchdowns, completing 34-of-58 passes. He spread the ball around to 10 different receivers, including Thielen and D J Chark for 145 and 86 yards, respectively, and one TD each.
The apparent problem was that the Panthers defense had their work cut out for them in containing Seattle’s Geno Smith-led, balanced offense. Walker (18 carries for 97 yards and rookie RB Zach Charbonnet (9 carries, 46 yards) led a Seahawk rushing attack that rolled up 146 net yards to complement 23-of-36 passing by Smith for 296 yards. Each team recorded three TDs, but Seattle was 5-for-5 on field goals while the Panthers were 2-for-3.
Also telling: the Panthers had to punt five times, the Seahawks only twice. The Panthers accumulated a lot of yards, but only got into the red zone twice, converting them into points each time. The Seahawks, they got into the red zone six times, converting on half of them.
