Dec 29, 2025
3 min read
With a win at San Francisco next week, Seattle will have the top total in the NFC.
By Joseph Persson, Michael-Shawn Duggar and Ken Bradley
The Miami Dolphins did what the Carolina Panthers needed on Sunday, but the Seattle Seahawks ensured the Panthers would have to wait another week before deciding whether to make the postseason for the first time since 2017. Meanwhile, Seattle moved within one win of the top seed in the NFC.
Seattle (13-3) stifled Carolina's offense all day at Bank of America Stadium and took advantage of several turnovers in the third quarter to beat the Panthers 27-10 and take a one-game lead in the NFC.If the Seahawks beat the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday night (8 p.m. ET), they will clinch the top seed in the NFC: a first-round bye and home field during the playoffs.lead – and the NFC West title for the first time since 2020.
Seattle has won 13 games for the third time in the regular seasonThe Seahawks had 13 wins in 2013 when they won the Super Bowl and 2005 when they lost the Super Bowl.
The Warriors (8-8) and Dolphins would have won the NFC South after beating the Bucks 20:17.Otherwise, Week 18 - Saturday at 4:30 p.m.ET - will decide the Tampa split between the Panthers and Bucks.Tampa Bay has won four in a row, with the Warriors last in 2015.
Seattle destroyed Carolina in penalty kicks on Sunday.Zach Charbonnet rushed 18 times for 110 yards and two touchdowns and Kenneth Walker III added 51 yards on 15 carries.Sam Darnold was up and down with his former team — starting 17 games for the Panthers from 2021 to 2022 — as he threw for 147 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Meanwhile, Carolina's offense struggled to gain ground all afternoon.Bryce Young completed 14 of 24 passes for 54 yards and one interception.Top receiver Tetairova McMillan, who was late added to the injury report due to illness, was limited to one catch for 5 yards.The Panthers managed just 139 total yards and were 1 of 11 on third down.
After a 3-3 deadlock in the first half, after the Panthers intercepted Darnold in the end zone, Chuba Hubbard fumble gave Seattle the ball at the Carolina 21. Charbonnet added his first TD of the game six plays later to put Seattle ahead, 10-3. In the next possession, Julian Cinta intercepted Young and returned 26 meters to the Panthers' 29.Darnold hit AJ Barner for a 17-yard TD to make it 17-3.
At 13-3, the Seahawks sit in first place in the NFC and could gain home-field advantage in the playoffs with a win against the 49ers in Week 18. Seattle has a top-10 offense, one of the best defenses in the league and an elite special teams unit.Mike Macdonald took a team that was falling into mediocrity and turned it into a contender in two years.The road to the Super Bowl in the NFC could go through Seattle for the first time since the 2014 season.— Michael-Shawn Dugar, Seahawks beat reporter
The opportunity is lost... what will be the next step?
The Panthers haven't had it easy all season.What should they start now?The Panthers could have swept the NFC South by beating Seattle while the Buccaneers lost to Miami.Instead, they gave the Seahawks three short field goals (two turnovers) that led to 21 points.The loss means Carolina will go to Tampa Bay next week with a win-win situation.Panthers fall 23-20 in Week 16 at Charlotte after losing stretch bye.-Joseph Person, Panthers beat reporter.
Seattle's defense dominates
Seattle's defense handled Young and Carolina's offense all afternoon.Young threw for just 54 yards and an interception in the second half.The Panthers were miserable on third down.McMillan had the only catch on the penultimate drive of the fourth quarter on fourth-and-17.Seattle has a championship-caliber defense even without the ball, as it did with safety Kobe Bryant (knee) and outside linebacker Derrick Hall (suspension) missing this game.- Duggar
Lawrence stood up
The Seahawks have shown all season that they have enough playmakers to crush offenses on any given week.The star of Sunday's show was outside linebacker DeMarcus Lawrence, who had six tackles and a sack — essentially killing any hopes of a Carolina comeback in the fourth quarter — and recovered a forced fumble that led to Seattle's go-ahead run in the third quarter.- Duggar
Cross game attack
With his No. 1 receiver playing with an illness and the Seahawks blocking the rest of Carolina's field goals, Young threw for just 54 yards -- a career low in the games he started.McMillan, the favorite for Offensive Rookie of the Year, was a late addition to the injury report Sunday morning because of an illness.And while McMillan played the entire game, he was clearly limited.McMillan's first catch came on a 5-yard reception with 3:40 remaining - on fourth-and-17 of the Panthers' 20. Young completed 14 of 24 passes with an interception and a 45.8 passer rating, the second-highest of his career.- The Person
