Seattle's Furious Rally Falls Short: Panthers Win, 31-24, Advance to NFC Title Game
By Jason McIntyre
Carolina led 31-0 at the half, but Seattle clawed back on the arm of Russell Wilson. The Seahawks QB threw three second-half TD passes and finished with 366 yards through the air, but it wasn’t enough, and Carolina is going to the NFC Championship game to play Arizona next week.
Arizona will travel to Carolina Sunday for a 6 pm game on Fox. It’ll be the first time since the 2012-2013 season the Seahawks aren’t in the NFC Championship game. Early lines have the Panthers favored by four points.
At one point in the 1st quarter, the Seahawks had one first down and Wilson had thrown two interceptions. Carolina raced to a 31-0 lead, but the offense went into a shell in the second half. Cam Newton only threw for 161 yards and rushed for just four yards.
A late Seattle field goal cut the deficit to 31-24, but Seattle couldn’t get another onside kick – who can forget last year vs the Packers? – to try and tie the game. Strangely, Russell Wilson tried to join the huddle before the onside kick and get in on special teams.