Photo Credit: ESPN

After last week’s electrifying win over the Los Angeles Rams, the Seattle Seahawks still have work to do to lock up the NFC West and the No. 1 seed. That journey continues this Sunday when they head to Charlotte to face the Carolina Panthers, who are also fighting for a playoff spot.

This is a huge game for both teams, but for very different reasons. Although the Seahawks have already secured a playoff berth, finishing as the No. 1 seed would give them a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

The Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been battling for the NFC South for the last few weeks. The Bucs started the season 5–1, but injuries began to pile up, and Carolina defeated them last week to take the division lead and improve to 8–7. If the Panthers make the playoffs, they would be the four seed and host a playoff game. Their season has been full of ups and downs, and now they’ve reached the most crucial stretch of the year. They’re playing with desperation, and the Seahawks can’t afford to take them lightly.

The Seahawks control their own destiny, it’s simple. Win out and earn the No. 1 seed. The biggest hurdle was beating the Rams last week, but the challenges don’t get much easier, starting with the Panthers this week and the San Francisco 49ers next week. The 49ers and Rams are only one game behind Seattle, so there’s no room for error.

Seattle will be without Charles Cross for the second week in a row, as well as safety Coby Bryant, who was injured in last week’s game against the Rams. However, Josh Jones filled in well for Cross, and hopefully he can do the same again this week. Defensively, last week was arguably the Seahawks’ worst performance of the season, they didn’t force the Rams to punt until the fourth quarter. Bryant has had a great year so far, and it’s unclear how long he’ll be out, so other players will need to step up.

Heading into last week’s game, the Seahawks’ offense had been extremely inconsistent, and last week was no different. They were good at the start of the game, sloppy for the rest of the first half, good on the first drive of the second half, sloppy until midway through the fourth quarter, unable to move the ball late in the fourth, then amazing in overtime. They need to get back to playing consistently on offense.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba was held without a catch in the first half and is starting to lose his lead as the NFL’s receiving yards leader. The Seahawks’ offense getting back to form is a must if they want to go far.

As always, here are my three keys for a Seahawks win vs. the Panthers.

Keep Getting Kenneth Walker Involved in the Offense

Kenneth Walker had his best game of the season last week, totaling 164 yards and a touchdown. He was the Seahawks’ only source of offense early in the game, making plays both on the ground and in the passing game. All season, fans have been asking for Walker to get more involved, and what do you know it worked. I hope to see more of this in Carolina.

Keep Feeding Jaxon Smith-Njigba

As mentioned earlier, Smith-Njigba only got involved in the offense in the second half, with just one target in the first half. JSN is what makes this offense go, and they need to get him the ball early and often. I expect Seattle to do that. The Rams clearly made a point to keep him from getting hot, and his first catch came when he lined up in the backfield. I liked the creativity and want to see more of it.

Play Good Defense

Defense will be key in setting the tone for this game. In many of Carolina’s wins this season, they’ve kept games close and pulled them out in the final minutes, with Bryce Young making plays late. Young has been very inconsistent all year, and the Seahawks need to make sure the Panthers don’t build momentum. That starts on defense. Seattle needs to get sacks and force turnovers, something they failed to do last week.

Score Prediction

Seattle Seahawks 24, Carolina Panthers 14

I expect this to be a close, low-scoring game, with the Seahawks pulling away late and coming out on top.

Kickoff is at 10 a.m. in Carolina.