CenturyLink Field – Seattle, WA
Kickoff: Sunday, 8:30 p.m. ET
Line: Seattle -6.5, Total: 44.5

Two teams that struggled to protect their passers last week, the Panthers and Seahawks, will look to resolve those issues on Sunday night.

The Seahawks saw their momentum swiftly extinguished last weekend, as they lost 14-5 to the Buccaneers on the road on Sunday (TB +5). The loss ended a three-game losing streak for Seattle, who, at 7-3-1 (5-5-1 ATS) remains firmly atop the weak NFC South, where three other members are all below .500. Seattle gave up all of its points of the afternoon in the first quarter, allowing two touchdown passes to beastly Tampa wideout Mike Evans. The Seahawks got all of their own points in the second quarter with a sack for a safety and a field goal on their ensuing drive. The Seahawks return home this week for a Sunday night game against the Panthers, who effectively eliminated themselves from playoff contention last week with a 35-32 loss on the road at Oakland (CAR +3.5). It was a discouraging loss for Carolina in a season full of them, as they rallied furiously to turn a 24-7 halftime deficit to a 32-24 lead less than two minutes into the fourth quarter. The Raiders mounted a rally of their own, however, kicking a field goal to take the lead with 1:45 on the clock. Panthers QB Cam Newton had the ball stripped from him by Oakland LB Khalil Mack on Carolina’s final drive to cement the defeat. Over the last five seasons, favorites with winning percentages between .600 and .750 (SEA) are 46-20 ATS when coming off a loss. Over the last 10 seasons, teams coming off an Over and averaging between 23.0 and 27.0 points per game (CAR) are 65-29 ATS against teams that are allowing between 14.0 and 18.0 points per game (SEA). The Carolina offensive line is decimated with injuries, as C Ryan Kalil and his backup, C Gino Gradkowski, were both placed on the IR Tuesday. RT Daryl Williams injured his ankle against Oakland and will likely sit on Sunday, as well. LB Luke Kuechly, the league’s fifth-leading tackler, remains in the league’s concussion protocol. There has been little word on whether DE Mario Addison, who leads the team with 6.5 sacks, will play. He missed the Raiders game with a right foot injury. For Seattle, star defenders DE Michael Bennett and S Earl Thomas have missed recent games with injuries. Bennett is expected to play against Carolina while Thomas is questionable.

A year removed from his MVP season, Newton (55.8 CMP%, 2,432 yards, 13 TDs, 8 INTs; 65 carries, 274 yards, 5 TDs) has struggled immensely this year. He’s 31st of 32 quarterbacks in the league in completion percentage, 27th in passer rating (81.4) and 17th in yards per attempt (7.17). He ranked 28th, eighth and seventh in those respective categories last season. So while completion percentage might not be the best indicator of his performance, a drop-off in the other two categories is certainly telling. He’s also on pace for just under 400 rushing yards for the entire season, down from over 600 last season. It’s hard to blame him for a lot of it—his offensive line’s struggles in the Super Bowl last year foreshadowed their terrible performance this season, even before the injuries hit. His leading receiver is TE Greg Olsen (58 catches, 790 yards, 3 TDs), who is first among all NFL tight ends in receiving yards and second in receptions. 6-foot-5 WR Kelvin Benjamin (48 catches, 736 yards, 5 TDs) is Newton’s second-most targeted weapon. He made a huge play with a 44-yard touchdown catch on Sunday, but later failed to pick up a key first down that some felt he might have been able to reach for in the fourth quarter. WRs Ted Ginn Jr. (36 catches, 489 yards, 2 TDs) and Devin Funchess (18 catches, 285 yards, 3 TDs) are Newton’s other go-to guys. Predictably, the running game is similarly ailed by the lack of talent along the offensive line. RB Jonathan Stewart (127 carries, 461 yards, 7 TDs) had a season-high 96 rushing yards for two touchdowns on 17 carries against the Raiders last week. RBs Fozzy Whittaker (43 carries, 205 yards; 23 catches, 187 yards) and Cameron Artis-Payne (36 carries, 144 yards, 2 TDs) filled in when Stewart missed a few games with an injury earlier in the year. On defense, the Panthers are 17th in the league with 354.5 yards allowed per game. Among their remaining healthy defenders, DT Kawann Short has been particularly outstanding.

Seattle QB Russell Wilson (64.7 CMP%, 2,865 yards, 11 TDs, 4 INTs) had his worst game of the year on Sunday against the Buccaneers, completing 17 of 33 passes for only 151 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions. The Seahawks’ offensive line joins the Panthers’ as one of the league’s worst, as it let an average Tampa pass rush sack Wilson six times and pressure him on more than half of his dropbacks. He was able to get out of some sticky situations with his feet, rushing eight times for 80 yards. It wasn’t a bad silver lining on a difficult day for the offense, as Wilson’s running abilities this season seemed to have fallen off from years past. He’s 14th in the NFL in completion percentage, 16th in passer rating (93.2) and ninth in yards per attempt (7.79). In the three games that immediately preceded last weekend, Wilson threw for 902 total yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions. His No. 1 receiver is again WR Doug Baldwin (61 catches, 767 yards, 5 TDs), who is proving that his breakout season a year ago was not a fluke (despite not matching his touchdown totals). His last two games could not have been more different, as he had four catches for 104 yards against the Eagles and seven catches for 34 yards against the Bucs. TE Jimmy Graham (51 catches, 706 yards, 4 TDs) is a weapon on the level of Olsen, as Olsen is the only tight end he trails in the league in receiving yards. WRs Jermaine Kearse (29 catches, 354 yards) and Tyler Lockett (23 catches, 325 yards) round out the group of receivers that Wilson looks to regularly. RB Thomas Rawls (45 carries, 125 yards in four games) is once again the feature back after missing most of the year thus far with an injury. The Seahawks took a hit in both the running and passing game when rookie RB C.J. Prosise (30 carries, 172 yards, TD; 17 catches, 208 yards) suffered an injury in Week 11 that could have him out for the rest of the regular season. Seattle’s defense remains one of the best in the league; it’s 7th with 335.6 yards allowed per game. LB Bobby Wagner leads the NFL with 118 total tackles.