‘Mess’ of a first half was Seattle Seahawks’ undoing

Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll’s description of how his team started its NFC divisional playoff game Sunday against the Carolina Panthers was succinct.

“We made a mess of it in the first half,” Carroll said after the Panthers’ 31-24 victory at Bank of America Stadium. “We just couldn’t get started well. Carolina took advantage of all the opportunities. It was a terrible start. We didn’t have enough time to overcome it.”

The Panthers jumped to a 14-0 lead before the game was four minutes old, then went on to lead 31-0 at halftime. There was no reason, at that time, to think that the Panthers wouldn’t cruise into next Sunday’s NFC Championship Game against the Arizona Cardinals.

But the Seahawks thought otherwise. And although they came up short – and will miss a trip to what would have been a third consecutive Super Bowl appearance – they’ll take some cold comfort in knowing they threw a scare into the Panthers. The Seahawks scored 24 unanswered points in the second half and making things very uncomfortable for the Panthers.

“In the moment, you’re going for it and you’re happy that the momentum is in your favor,” said Seahawks receiver Doug Baldwin, who caught eight passes for 82 yards. “However, when we sit back and look at this, there are no moral victories. There’s a lot of things in the first half that we should have done differently that would have maybe changed the outcome.”

The Seahawks locker room at halftime wasn’t a scene of despair and hopelessness. Although they were down 31-0, players and coaches stayed positive.

“We’ve been an extraordinary finishing team, we really have, over the years,” said Carroll. “Sometimes halftime is the best thing that can happen to us. We regroup, we make adjustments, our guys get re-centered and re-focused. That’s been happening for a long of time. None of us are surprised that’s what happened in the second half. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough.”

Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson got his team going in the third quarter, throwing touchdown passes to Jermaine Kearse (13 yards) and rookie Tyler Lockett (33 yards).

The Seahawks might have scored again in the third after they got another shot of momentum from a successful fake punt. But that drive fizzled.

The Seahawks cut the lead to 31-24 on a 36-yard field goal by Steven Hauschka with 1 minute, 37 seconds left. But Seattle’s last chance, an onside kick, failed.

Wilson completed 31-of-48 passes for 366 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions in the first half that led to 10 Panthers points. He was also sacked five times.

“I think the circumstances – being down 31-0 – made it challenging,” said Wilson. “But you stay in the moment, if you are up by a lot or down by a lot or if the score is tied. It’s something we’ve done well all year. Guys stayed in it. Next time, we won’t be down like that, but it’s an opportunity to weather the storm and try to find a way.”

There was at least one Panthers player who wasn’t surprised that the Seahawks didn’t go away.

“It’s the playoffs, it’s the Seahawks,” said Carolina linebacker Luke Kuechly, who returned Wilson’s first interception for a touchdown. “When you are going into a great team, they play with a lot of pride and they’ve been there before. They know this setting, they know this playoff field. They are a battling team, and that’s what they did today.”

This story was originally published January 17, 2016 at 7:31 PM with the headline "‘Mess’ of a first half was Seattle Seahawks’ undoing."