Panthers hope to end losing streak against Seahawks
There’s a tendency to want to look back at the missed plays and some of the decisions that came about in the latest loss for the Carolina Panthers.
But it’s not a lost cause if the Panthers can move forward with some success.
“It’s what’s in front of us,” head coach Ron Rivera said. “Control the situation and take care of our business.”
That puts heightened importance on Sunday afternoon’s home game against the Seattle Seahawks. These are two teams that might be jockeying for playoff position as wild-card entries.
The Panthers also would prefer not to look back on what has become back-to-back road losses to Pittsburgh and Detroit.
The Detroit game involved unusual malfunctions from some players who had been regular contributors and a late-game decision from Rivera – going for a two-point conversion that failed rather than a one-point extra-point kick that, if good, would have tied the game.
The bigger picture might be figuring out why the Panthers have sputtered at times on offense when it seems that a variety of the weapons are being put to decent use.
Most of the offensive numbers look good but those haven’t translated into enough points at times.
“When you miss the opportunity to put points on the board, unfortunately you lose the game,” Rivera said. “That’s what happened.”
It would be difficult to point a finger at quarterback Cam Newton, whose passer rating has exceeded 100 in five consecutive games for a franchise record.
The Panthers have continued to allow the playbook to use young receivers DJ Moore and Curtis Samuel, while veteran tight end Greg Olsen seems to have rounded back into form after another injury.
The shortcomings are areas that can be addressed.
“Got to go back and fix them,” Rivera said. “We take the good with the bad. You’re not going to go out and beat everybody all the time. We’ve won six games, we’ve lost four.”
The Seahawks lead the NFL in rushing offense with 154.3 yards per game. It’s a mindset that the Panthers also would like to have, something that Rivera said is a sign of toughness.
“I do know they run the ball well,” he said. “As a defense, we’re going to have to be much better against the run.”
The Panthers also will encounter tight end Ed Dickson, who is in his first season with the Seahawks after playing for the Panthers from 2014-17. He was a big part of Carolina’s midseason stretch in 2017 while tight end Greg Olsen was out with an injury. It was his play in some of those games that made him valuable on the free-agent market in the offseason.
SERIES HISTORY: 10th regular-season meeting. Seahawks lead series, 6-3. Seattle has won two of three playoff meetings as well. This will be the ninth meeting, including seventh in the regular season, between the teams since 2010.
