CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - DECEMBER 28: Julian Love #20 of the Seattle Seahawks celebrates with teammates after a third quarter interception against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on December 28, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images)
The Seattle Seahawks are one win away from an NFC West title and homefield advantage in the playoffs after a 27-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
The defense was dominant for Seattle, and Zach Charbonnet carried a struggling offensive attack to secure a sixth-straight victory as the Seahawks reached 13 wins for just the third time in franchise history.
"It was, I felt, like a slow start but a good win, a good team win," quarterback Sam Darnold said. "Like I said, not the way we wanted to start on offense, but I feel like our defense and special teams kept us in the game. We did enough in the second half as an offense to win the game."
A terrific second half effort helped to erase the memory of an ugly first half for both teams (and the officials). DeMarcus Lawrence and Julian Love delivered turnover plays that set up touchdowns to kick-start Seattle's offense. The defense then added the finishing touches, holding the Panthers to just 139 yards of total offense in the victory.
While it's possible for the Seahawks to clinch the NFC West title and the No. 1 seed by the end of the weekend, the likelihood is it will come down to Week 18 with a win over the San Francisco 49ers needed to secure homefield advantage throughout the NFC in the playoffs.
"It’s exciting," safety Julian Love said. "If you take a step back, it’s a big game next week and I’ve never been in this position before. You’ve got to love it."
It will also be a chance to win 14 games in a regular season for the first time in franchise history.
But first, here are the takeaways from the win over Carolina.
– Defense delivers a gem.
Former Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll used to categorize "explosive" plays as runs of at least 12 yards, or passes of at least 16 yards.
By that metric, the Seahawks held the Carolina Panthers without a single explosive play in their 27-10 victory on Sunday.
Seattle held the Panthers to just 139 yards of total offense, which is tied for the eighth-fewest yards allowed in a game in franchise history. Rico Dowdle had an 11-yard run on the first snap of the game, and Bryce Young had an 11-yard scramble late in the second quarter to serve as the longest plays yielded by the Seahawks' defense.
Carolina had 11 offensive possessions in the game and managed to gain a first down on only four of those drives.
Throw in a pair of turnovers on a Chuba Hubbard fumble (forced and recovered by DeMarcus Lawrence) and a Julian Love interception of Young, and it was a banner day for the Seahawks defense. Both turnovers led directly to Seattle touchdowns.
"We felt good defensively," Love said. "The first half was great. They had that one drive, but we just knew we had to get the ball. Give our offense a shorter field and opportunities to put the ball in the endzone. That’s just how we’ve been this year. I think we chip away and work on our process, do all the things, but at the end of the day, people just make plays. When you make plays it creates a spark."
Young completed 14-of-24 passes for just 54 yards with an interception for Carolina, which is the fewest ever by a Seattle opponent with at least 20 attempts in a game. Jalen Coker was the Panthers' leading receiver with 16 yards on two receptions. No Carolina receiver had a catch longer than eight yards in the game.
It was complete dominance by Seattle.
"it’s just a dynamic of us taking care of each other and fighting for each other," Lawrence said. "If the offense makes a mistake, the defense helps. If the defense makes a mistake, the offense is right there to have our back, so it’s just a testament to the brotherhood that we have here and the football that we’re playing."
– Dynamite day from Zach Charbonnet.
With many parts of Seattle's offense sputtering on Sunday, Zach Charbonnet stepped up to carry the load.
Charbonnet delivered his second-career 100-yard rushing day, finishing with 110 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries for Seattle.
"It was probably Zach's best game as a Seahawk I would imagine. Definitely in the last two years," Macdonald said.
A 25-yard run on a third-and-15 sparked Seattle on a drive that led to their only points of the first half on a 48-yard Jason Myers field goal.
A 29-yard run should have led to more points, except Sam Darnold eventually was intercepted by former Seahawk Mike Jackson in the end zone on a throw for Jaxon Smith-Njigba that thwarted the potential scoring drive.
But after Lawrence's forced fumble gave the ball right back to the offense, Charbonnet punched it in for a 2-yard touchdown to give the Seahawks a 10-3 lead. A key third down conversion by Charbonnet led to A.J. Barner's touchdown on the next Seattle drive, and a 1-yard score from Charbonnet with 2:35 left to play put the finishing touches on the performance.
Charbonnet had 134 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries last year against Arizona.
"I think the [offensive line] did a great job of blocking up front. The tight ends did a great job too and so did the receivers, so I think all that plays a factor," Charbonnet said of his success.
The Seahawks finished with 163 yards rushing overall as Ken Walker III also contributed 51 yards on 15 carries. Two of Seattle's top three rushing outputs of the year have now come in back-to-back weeks, with 171 yards rushing last week against the Los Angeles Rams.
"It’s definitely something we’ve continued to harp on and will continue to harp on. Definitely not satisfied yet, so we’re going to keep building on that and keep attacking it," Charbonnet said.
"It's right where we want to be at this point," Macdonald added. "We have to keep going. San Francisco has a good run defense and go put a great plan together and let’s rock and roll."
– Sam Darnold has to find something more.
Sam Darnold has had some terrific moments this season with the Seattle Seahawks and has led the team to a record-tying 13 victories.
But if the Seahawks want to make a run in January, they need a little bit more out of their quarterback.
Specifically, fewer turnovers.
Darnold had a pair of turnovers on Sunday with a lost fumble and an interception, and at least two more passes could have been picked off for various reasons. He leads the league in turnovers this year with 20.
"It's really just the ball being in jeopardy," Macdonald said. "You know, so deflections, things like that, I mean, those things happen, but I think if we take care of like the front end of the plays better, it won't be as big of an issue."
Darnold has just two turnover-free games in Seattle's last 10 games. If not for the strong play of the defense over that stretch, they would not have the 9-1 record they do in those games. You can survive those performances against lesser teams, but against the best the league has to offer in the postseason, it won't be as easy to overcome.
A dropped snap by Darnold allowed the pass rush to get to him to dislodge the ball free from his grasp as he attempted to make a throw. The Panthers recovered and scored their only points of the first half on the ensuing short-field opportunity. While replays showed Darnold had his arm just moving forward when the ball was knocked free, the play call stood after review.
"I dropped the ball," Darnold said. "I felt like I was still in the pocket so it felt like I had a good base and I was in the right spot to be able to make that throw. The defense just made a good play. [They] got their hand on my forearm or elbow, and, yeah, kind of is what it is."
The interception came on a throw into the end zone for Jaxon Smith-Njigba, where Mike Jackson didn't bite on Smith-Njigba's double move. Jackson outplayed Smith-Njigba for the ball.
"Just got to move on in my progression or at least make an us-or-nobody throw where Jax can go up and get it or it's incomplete," Darnold said.
You can't expect a quarterback to be perfect. They can't maximize their potential while being scared to make a mistake. The defense gets paid to make plays too, and sometimes they're going to get you. Both interceptions in the win over the Los Angeles Rams were plays like this, where the Rams defense disguised coverages that fooled Darnold.
Cooper Kupp had a ball go through his hands that was nearly picked off by Derrick Brown, and another throw was deflected at the line of scrimmage and available for grabs as well. These things are going to happen occasionally.
But Darnold has to find a way to reduce the number of times the ball is in peril.
It overshadows a lot of the really great stuff Darnold has done at times this year, including in the second half of the game against Carolina.
"I know it wasn't Sam's best game of all-time and the stats reflect that, but there are some big-time third down throws with pressure in his face," Macdonald said. "He threw the one to Jax, that route to Cooper [Kupp.] Those are some big time throws that in the face of pressure that we need to be able to make. They're not easy to make."
Darnold joins Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre as the only quarterbacks to win 13 games in consecutive years. Darnold is the first to do so for two different teams. His best is more than enough to take Seattle to their second Super Bowl title.
They just need to avoid the dips a little more often.
– Where things stand with the playoff picture.
It remains simple for the Seahawks in that a win in Week 18 over the San Francisco 49ers will win the division and clinch homefield advantage and first-round bye as the No. 1 seed in the NFC throughout the playoffs.
But all those things could still be clinched by the end of this weekend as well, though the path is unlikely.
To win the division alone, the Seahawks need the 49ers and Rams to both either lose or tie their games against the Chicago Bears and Atlanta Falcons, respectively.
To clinch the No. 1 seed is more of a long-shot.
Seattle needs the Rams to lose to the Falcons, and for the 49ers and Bears game to finish in a tie. Chicago is still in the hunt for the No. 1 seed and a tie is the only result that takes both the Bears and 49ers out of the hunt.
If the 49ers beat the Bears, it sets up a simple matchup for the division title between the Seahawks and 49ers next weekend.
The Source: Information in this story came from FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
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