CAROLINA (0-2) at SEATTLE (1-1)
Sunday, 4:05 p.m. EDT, CBS
BETTING LINE: Seahawks by 6, according to FanDuel Sportsbook
AGAINST THE SPREAD: Carolina 0-1-1; Seattle 1-1
SERIES RECORD: Seahawks lead 10-5
LAST MEETING: Panthers beat Seahawks 30-24 on Dec. 11, 2022, in Seattle.
LAST WEEK: Panthers lost to Saints 20-17 on Monday night, Seahawks beat the Lions 37-31 on Sunday.
PANTHERS OFFENSE: OVERALL (26), RUSH (9), PASS (32), SCORING (t-30)
PANTHERS DEFENSE: OVERALL (8), RUSH (25), PASS (4), SCORING (13)
SEAHAWKS OFFENSE: OVERALL (25), RUSH (26), PASS (17), SCORING (13)
SEAHAWKS DEFENSE: OVERALL (31), RUSH (13), PASS (30), SCORING (29)
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Panthers minus-3; Seahawks plus-3
PANTHERS PLAYER TO WATCH: DE Brian Burns. Although he only has two sacks, Burns has been a force so far this season. Carolina has eight sacks through two games and many of those are because Burns' pressure has forced the opposing quarterback to step up in the pocket or change direction resulting in one of his teammates corralling him for a sack.
SEAHAWKS PLAYER TO WATCH: RB Kenneth Walker III. Walker was injured and did not play last season when the Panthers beat the Seahawks. That day, Seattle managed just 46 yards rushing against Carolina's defense. Walker's first two weeks of this season have been rather quiet, although he had two rushing touchdowns against Detroit. Seattle would like to get more from its run game and that starts with giving Walker a heavier load which could come this week.
KEY MATCHUP: Burns and the rest of Carolina's pass rush will be facing backup tackles Jake Curhan and Stone Forsythe for Seattle. The duo stepped in last week against Detroit and performed better than most expected. Thanks to some creative designs in the pass game, Geno Smith wasn't impacted much by Detroit's pass rush. If Curhan and Forsythe can play that well this week, Smith could have another solid day against Carolina's depleted defense.
KEY INJURIES: The Panthers have been hit hard by injuries, with four starters on injured reserve and QB Bryce Young's (ankle) status uncertain after he missed the first two days of practice this week. The latest key injury came on Monday night to linebacker Shaq Thompson, who broke his leg when two players landed on him awkwardly. He is expected to miss the entire season. In Week 1, the Panthers lost cornerback Jaycee Horn (hamstring) and guard Brady Christensen (torn biceps) to IR. Horn will be out at least six weeks and Christensen is done for the season. Guard Austin Corbett started the season on IR as he looks to rebound from a torn ACL in Week 18 of last season. .. Seattle is likely to be without starting CB Riq Woolen (chest) after he was hurt in the first half last week against Detroit. DK Metcalf will play with sore ribs, but LT Charles Cross seems still a week away because of a sprained toe. It may also still be another week before S Jamal Adams makes his season debut after getting hurt in the 2022 season opener.
SERIES NOTES: The Seahawks have dominated the series, winning eight of the past 11 matchups, including two of three in the postseason.
STATS AND STUFF: The winless Panthers haven't had a winning season since 2017 and are already two games behind Atlanta, New Orleans and Tampa Bay in the NFC South. Both of Carolina's losses have come within the division. ... Carolina has only scored two TDs this season, both coming on Bryce Young TD passes. ... If Young doesn't play, backup QB Andy Dalton is 3-1 in four starts vs. Seahawks. ... RB Miles Sanders has been limited to 115 yards through two games and is averaging just 3.6 yards per carry. ... WR DJ Chark (hamstring) is expected to see more extensive action against Seattle after being on a pitch count last week. ... LB Frankie Luvu leads the Panthers with 2 1/2 sacks. ... K Eddy Pineiro has made 23 consecutive field goals, the second-longest streak in team history behind only Graham Gano (28). Pineiro's field goal rate is 90.5%. The highest field-goal rate in NFL history among players with at least 100 attempts is Baltimore's Justin Tucker at 90.3%. Pineiro has 75 attempts. ... The Panthers are 25th offensively in third down efficiency. However, they have a chance to get right against a Seattle defense that is the worst in the league on third downs, allowing opponents to convert 60.7% of opportunities into first downs. ... Seattle coach Pete Carroll can tie Mike Holmgren for 15th on the NFL's career wins list with one more victory. Holmgren had 174 victories between regular season and playoffs. ... QB Geno Smith had his eighth career 300-yard passing game last week. Five of the eight have come in the past two seasons. ... WR Tyler Lockett had his 10th career game with two TD catches last week, sixth most among active players. ... TEs Noah Fant, Will Dissly and Colby Parkinson combined for nine catches for 132 yards vs. Detroit. ... The Seahawks are third in the league in allowing only 2.9 yards per rush through two games. Seattle had the 30th ranked run defense last season. ... LBs Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks each have had double-digit tackles in the first two weeks. ... K Jason Myers has missed three of his past four attempts. He missed three kicks all of last season.
FANTASY TIP: It's not a big sample size but Seattle's DK Metcalf has a TD catch in each of his previous two meetings against the Panthers. With injuries in the Carolina secondary it seems a good bet that Metcalf could find the end zone again.
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