Seattle Seahawks: Carolina Panthers no rival of ours

The Seattle Seahawks view the Carolina Panthers as an opponent with which they’re very familiar. But as a rival? Not so much.

“No, not really,” said Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, whose team will face the Panthers in an NFC divisional playoff game Sunday at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium. “We just recognize that they’re a great football team, and they’ve had a great season, and they’ve got showcase players all across the board. We just look at them as they are now. We don’t try to compound based on what’s happened before.”

Sunday’s game will be the seventh between the teams since 2010, including last season when the Seahawks beat the Panthers 31-17 in a divisional playoff game in Seattle. That was the Seahawks’ fifth consecutive victory against the Panthers over that stretch, until visiting Carolina won 27-23 earlier this season. The Panthers and Seahawks are also scheduled to play again next season in Seattle.

“Even when we beat them quite a few times, it was always a battle,” said Seahawks guard J.R. Sweezy. “It always seems to come down to a couple of points or a couple of plays. But that’s every game in the NFL.”

Sweezy, who grew up in Mooresville and went to N.C. State, agrees with his coach that the Panthers don’t qualify as a rival. Just a team they’ve seen plenty of in recent seasons and respect a lot.

“They’re a great team,” said Sweezy of the once-beaten Panthers, who are the NFC’s top seed. “I give them full credit, they deserve it.”

Notes

▪ Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch again participated fully in practice Thursday. Lynch, who has missed eight games with an abdominal injury, didn’t play last week in Seattle’s wildcard game at Minnesota after participating fully in three days of practice. Coach Pete Carroll said earlier this week that Lynch’s status for the game would remain day-to-day until Friday, when the team departs for Charlotte.

Tight end Luke Willson (concussion) also participated fully Thursday, while fullback Will Tukuafu (hamstring) didn’t practice, and defensive end Michael Bennett (toe) had limited participation.

▪ Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell has plenty of respect for Carolina linebackers Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis.

“They’re as good as there are in this game,” Bevell said. “They run fast, they hit hard and react really well. They play their positions as well as it can be played.”

▪ As the sixth and lowest seed in the NFC playoffs, the Seahawks are traveling to all their playoff games. They already flew an NFL-high 30,066 miles during the regular season. Now tack on 1,541 (to Minnesota last week) and 2,283 (to Charlotte) more.

 

This story was originally published January 14, 2016 at 8:45 PM with the headline "Seattle Seahawks: Carolina Panthers no rival of ours."