Carolina Panthers vs. Seattle Seahawks: NFC Divisional Re-Watch
By Reece Helms
4th Quarter:
The Panthers had the football to start the fourth quarter but were unable to expand on their lead.
Seattle got the ball back on their own 27 yard line with 9:37 on the game clock.
On first down Wilson’s pass was incomplete to Jermaine Kearse. On second down it first appeared Lockett was unable to get two feet inbounds, forcing a 3rd-and-10 for the Seahawks.
But before that happened, the call on the field was over-turned. Here’s the slow motion replay:
That ended up being a huge call. Not only did it give the Seahawks the first down but it was a big gain of 27 yards.
After a few more plays the Seahawks were in the red-zone threatening to score again. The Panthers defense had them in a 3rd-and-goal situation but Wilson was able to make this fantastic throw to Kearse:
All-Pro cornerback Norman was INCHES short of deflecting the football. In fact, he did get one finger on it but it wasn’t enough to prevent the TD.
The game clock currently has 6:04 left on it; advantage Carolina. But there’s still a lot of football to be played.
Head coach Ron Rivera chooses to go the “chew the clock” route as they ran the ball three straight times before punting it back to the Seahawks. The clock now says 2:49.
Pete Carroll’s team was in a dilemma: The score is 31-21 so they need to score twice in order to tie or even win the game. The game clock is not on their side so they must hurry.
Wilson took the Seahawks to the Panthers 18 yard line, but they decided to take the FG to make it 31-24. That left enough time on the clock to attempt an onside kick.
Fortunately for the Panthers, Thomas Davis was there to catch the football. It was all over, the Carolina Panthers were advancing to their first NFC Championship game since 2006.
The mood in Charlotte:
This upcoming season is probably the most anticipated year in Carolina Panthers history. After coming up short in the Super Bowl, there is a lot of unfinished business on the field.
Cat Crave will be covering the NFC Championship game between the Carolina Panthers and the Arizona Cardinals next. Don’t miss the opportunity to re-live that win as well with us.