Panthers vs. Seahawks Week 14 Betting Preview: Panthers to Run Past Seahawks
Carolina Panthers vs. Seattle Seahawks
Sunday, December 11, 2022 at 4:25 p.m. ET at Lumen Field in Seattle
Seattle's Run Defense Stats
Seattle's run defense is imposing a major hindrance on its ability to win games.
Run defense has been a problem for the Seahawks throughout the season -- it is not only a consequence of their recent games that they rank second-to-last at limiting the opponent's rushing yards per game.
However, Seattle's run defense has been most problematic in its most recent games.
To be exact, the Seahawks are allowing an average of 205 rushing yards in their last three games.
Home or away, Seattle can't stop the run.
The Opponent Does Not Matter
It is not like Seattle has been facing top-level rushing attacks, either.
In their last three games, they surrendered 161 rushing yards to Tampa Bay, 283 to Las Vegas, and, most recently, 171 to the Rams.
The interesting thing about the Bucs and Rams is that both teams, even after having gashed the Seahawk run defense, rank bottom-three in rushing yards per game.
Essentially everybody and anybody is running rampant on the Seahawk run defense.
This defensive problem largely explains why the Seahawks narrowly avoided a three-game losing streak by edging out the struggling Rams.
Carolina's Rush Attack
Carolina's 17th-ranked but recently surging rush attack promises to keep the team competitive in this game.
The Panthers rely primarily on two running backs who boast significant starting experience.
Chuba Hubbard has started many games when former Panther running back Christian McCaffrey was injured.
In addition to Hubbard, the Panthers have former Falcon starter D'Onta Foreman.
As recent weeks show, Carolina's offense tends to thrive with higher scoring outputs when Foreman gets more carries.
It seems like the obviously right decision to give him a lot of carries against Seattle's impotent run defense.
Carolina's Quarterback Situation
In addition to having a favorable running back situation, Carolina has settled on its best possible quarterback solution.
Last week against Denver, Sam Darnold started in place of the injured PJ Walker.
Darnold achieved a 103.8 passer rating in his team's win against the Broncos and their highly-ranked pass defense.
It doesn't take much to be better than Walker, in any case.
As the metrics show, Walker is horribly inefficient on deep ball attempts, on passes attempted under pressure, against man coverage, against zone coverage, and so forth.
Seattle's Running Back Situation
While, in a good sense for the Panthers, Carolina's quarterback situation has become uninteresting because the Panthers have simply settled on Darnold returning to the starter role, Seattle's running back situation is interesting for all the wrong reasons.
The Seahawk running back group is incredibly beleaguered right now.
Rashaad Penny, their best running back, is on injured reserve.
Kenneth Walker mustered three carries last week against the Rams before leaving the game with an ankle injury from which he failed to return.
Despite accruing three carries, he nearly led the team in rushing yards.
DeeJay Dallas led the team with 37 rushing yards.
Dallas and Walker, in any case, are also listed as 'questionable.'
Seattle is well-known for its inclination to run the ball via a deep group of running backs.
But the Seahawks lack the necessary personnel right now.
Geno Smith's Outlook
Seattle will be uniquely dependent on quarterback Geno Smith.
But Smith will be uncomfortable against what has been one of the top pass rushes in recent weeks.
Team sack-leader Brian Burns, Frankie Luvu, and Marquis Haynes have been playing their best, lately, as evident in their sack totals.
Smith's discomfort in the pocket will make it harder for him to take advantage of the weaponry that he has at wide receiver.
But even when he has time to throw, Carolina boasts the quality at cornerback to keep Seahawk wide receivers in check.
The speedy former first-round draft pick CJ Henderson matches up well against Tyler Lockett with his reliance on his speed.
Fellow cornerback Jaycee Horn is yielding a 48.3 passer rating in pass coverage.
The Verdict
Carolina will have a much easier time scoring thanks to its stable quarterback situation, its viable rush attack, Seattle's horrendous defensive problems, Carolina's high-quality pass rush and secondary. and Seattle's injured running back group.
Best Bet: Panthers +3.5 at -102 with BetOnline
Carolina Panthers vs. Seattle Seahawks
Sunday, December 11, 2022 at 4:25 p.m. ET at Lumen Field in Seattle
Seattle's Run Defense Stats
Seattle's run defense is imposing a major hindrance on its ability to win games.
Run defense has been a problem for the Seahawks throughout the season -- it is not only a consequence of their recent games that they rank second-to-last at limiting the opponent's rushing yards per game.
However, Seattle's run defense has been most problematic in its most recent games.
To be exact, the Seahawks are allowing an average of 205 rushing yards in their last three games.
Home or away, Seattle can't stop the run.
The Opponent Does Not Matter
It is not like Seattle has been facing top-level rushing attacks, either.
In their last three games, they surrendered 161 rushing yards to Tampa Bay, 283 to Las Vegas, and, most recently, 171 to the Rams.
The interesting thing about the Bucs and Rams is that both teams, even after having gashed the Seahawk run defense, rank bottom-three in rushing yards per game.
Essentially everybody and anybody is running rampant on the Seahawk run defense.
This defensive problem largely explains why the Seahawks narrowly avoided a three-game losing streak by edging out the struggling Rams.
Carolina's Rush Attack
Carolina's 17th-ranked but recently surging rush attack promises to keep the team competitive in this game.
The Panthers rely primarily on two running backs who boast significant starting experience.
Chuba Hubbard has started many games when former Panther running back Christian McCaffrey was injured.
In addition to Hubbard, the Panthers have former Falcon starter D'Onta Foreman.
As recent weeks show, Carolina's offense tends to thrive with higher scoring outputs when Foreman gets more carries.
It seems like the obviously right decision to give him a lot of carries against Seattle's impotent run defense.
Carolina's Quarterback Situation
In addition to having a favorable running back situation, Carolina has settled on its best possible quarterback solution.
Last week against Denver, Sam Darnold started in place of the injured PJ Walker.
Darnold achieved a 103.8 passer rating in his team's win against the Broncos and their highly-ranked pass defense.
It doesn't take much to be better than Walker, in any case.
As the metrics show, Walker is horribly inefficient on deep ball attempts, on passes attempted under pressure, against man coverage, against zone coverage, and so forth.
Seattle's Running Back Situation
While, in a good sense for the Panthers, Carolina's quarterback situation has become uninteresting because the Panthers have simply settled on Darnold returning to the starter role, Seattle's running back situation is interesting for all the wrong reasons.
The Seahawk running back group is incredibly beleaguered right now.
Rashaad Penny, their best running back, is on injured reserve.
Kenneth Walker mustered three carries last week against the Rams before leaving the game with an ankle injury from which he failed to return.
Despite accruing three carries, he nearly led the team in rushing yards.
DeeJay Dallas led the team with 37 rushing yards.
Dallas and Walker, in any case, are also listed as 'questionable.'
Seattle is well-known for its inclination to run the ball via a deep group of running backs.
But the Seahawks lack the necessary personnel right now.
Geno Smith's Outlook
Seattle will be uniquely dependent on quarterback Geno Smith.
But Smith will be uncomfortable against what has been one of the top pass rushes in recent weeks.
Team sack-leader Brian Burns, Frankie Luvu, and Marquis Haynes have been playing their best, lately, as evident in their sack totals.
Smith's discomfort in the pocket will make it harder for him to take advantage of the weaponry that he has at wide receiver.
But even when he has time to throw, Carolina boasts the quality at cornerback to keep Seahawk wide receivers in check.
The speedy former first-round draft pick CJ Henderson matches up well against Tyler Lockett with his reliance on his speed.
Fellow cornerback Jaycee Horn is yielding a 48.3 passer rating in pass coverage.
The Verdict
Carolina will have a much easier time scoring thanks to its stable quarterback situation, its viable rush attack, Seattle's horrendous defensive problems, Carolina's high-quality pass rush and secondary. and Seattle's injured running back group.
Best Bet: Panthers +3.5 at -102 with BetOnline
