8:15 PM ET, January 10,2015
CenturyLink Field, Seattle, WA
CenturyLink Field, Seattle, WA
Top Performers
Passing: R. Wilson (SEA) - 268 YDS, 3 TDRushing: J. Stewart (CAR) - 13 CAR, 70 YDS
Receiving: J. Kearse (SEA) - 3 REC, 129 YDS, 1 TD
Associated Press
Seahawks Eliminate Panthers From Playoffs
The Seahawks are one step closer to defending their Super Bowl title.
"It's exciting but the job is not done. There is still a lot more to do," Wilson said.
Wilson threw for 268 yards and three touchdowns, Chancellor returned an interception 90 yards for a TD midway through the fourth quarter and the Seahawks beat the Carolina Panthers 31-17 on Saturday night in an NFC divisional playoff game.
More from ESPN.com
Kam
Chancellor was leaping tall linemen with a single bound and sealed the
Seahawks' win with a 90-yard pick-six to advance Seattle to the NFC
Championship Game for the second consecutive year, writes Terry Blount.
Story
Cam
Newton didn't have to look far to see what a franchise quarterback
looks like. He was wearing No. 3 for Seattle, David Newton writes.
Story
Seattle kept up its postseason home dominance, while Russell Wilson
exceeded what he did on third down for the entire regular season in just
one game. Story
Wilson threw a 16-yard touchdown to Doug Baldwin in the first quarter, found Jermaine Kearse for a 63-yard TD in the second quarter and capped his night with a 25-yard strike to Luke Willson with 10:26 remaining that gave Seattle a 24-10 lead.
Even with Wilson's passing prowess, the capper was still to come from the most impressive athlete on the field.
"I don't know if a strong safety can have a better game than Kam did tonight," Seattle coach Pete Carroll said.
Chancellor wowed everyone by twice jumping over the Carolina offensive line on a pair of Graham Gano field goal attempts at the end of the first half. And he showed that he's a pretty good safety in coverage, too.
With Carolina driving and trying to cut Seattle's 14-point lead in half, Chancellor anticipated Cam Newton's throw. Newton's primary target was covered and when he came back to try and find Ed Dickson, Chancellor jumped the throw and returned his third career postseason interception for a touchdown.
For all the tackles Chancellor made -- and his hurdling exhibition -- it was the hulking safety running alone for the first TD of his career that left CenturyLink Field shaking.
"We have a full trust and understanding of his athletic ability. He's a freaking monster," Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman said. "... He damages people's souls."
It was the longest touchdown in Seattle's postseason history, topping Percy Harvin's 87-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in last season's Super Bowl.
"It felt awesome. It felt like preparation. It felt like everything I worked all week for," Chancellor said.
The Seahawks (13-4) never trailed and became the first defending Super Bowl champion to win a playoff game the following season since New England in January 2006.
Wilson Better Downfield Than Newton
Russell
Wilson had multiple completions on passes of 20-plus yards downfield
for the fifth straight game. Wilson didn't have multiple completions on
deep passes in any of his first 12 games this season. Meanwhile, Cam
Newton had the same number of completions (1) and interceptions on such
throws Saturday.Downfield Saturday
| Category | Newton | Wilson |
|---|---|---|
| Comp-Att | 1-6 | 3-5* |
| Yards | 5.2 | 25.8 |
| TD-INT | 0-1 | 1-0 |
| *3-of-3 for 129 yards, TD targeting Jermaine Kearse | ||
| -- ESPN Stats & Information | ||
Seattle will host either Green Bay or Dallas next Sunday for a trip to the Super Bowl.
Newton threw a pair of touchdowns to Kelvin Benjamin, but Carolina (8-9-1) couldn't overcome three turnovers, two of which the Seahawks turned into touchdowns.
After knocking off Arizona in the wild-card round last week, Carolina was trying to be the first team to reach a conference championship game after having a losing record in the regular season.
Much like the previous three regular-season games between the two teams, Carolina made it difficult on Seattle. The best running team in the NFL this season was held to 100 yards rushing by the Panthers' defense.
Marshawn Lynch was mostly a non-factor aside from a 25-yard run in the third quarter that helped set up Steven Hauschka's 37-yard field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter.
But Wilson was outstanding, especially on third down. All three of his touchdown throws came on third-and-long situations. Baldwin beat safety Tre Boston on a double move on third-and-9 on his TD catch in the first quarter.
Kearse's TD reception came on a third-and-7. And Willson's catch-and-run TD was on third-and-10.
Wilson finished with a passer rating of 149.2, the second-highest for any game in his career. He was 8-of-8 for 199 yards passing on third downs.
"That's just a fantastic night of coming through in critical situations," Carroll said.
Newton played well, but turnovers were the Panthers' undoing. Newton finished 23-of-36 for 246 yards and added 37 yards rushing. Jonathan Stewart had been a key to the Panthers' late-season surge, and rushed for 70 yards on 13 carries.
Newton got away with testing All-Pro cornerback Sherman in the first quarter and watching Sherman dance away with his first career postseason interception.
But Seattle took the lead after Carolina's second turnover of the first quarter. Michael Bennett disrupted the handoff between Newton and Stewart and Tony McDaniel fell on the loose ball at the Carolina 28. Wilson connected with Baldwin to take the lead and Carolina never pulled back even.
"We needed them to make some mistakes and that would help," Carolina coach Ron Rivera said. "But it didn't happen. Credit to them."
Game notes
Seattle won its eighth straight home playoff game. ... Carolina's 132 yards rushing were fourth-most of any team versus Seattle this season. ... C Max Unger re-injured his ankle late in the fourth quarter. Seattle WR Paul Richardson suffered a sprained knee in the third quarter.
Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press
Photo Wire
Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch, left, shakes hands with Carolina Panthers running back DeAngelo...
(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Team Stat Comparison
CAR
|
SEA
| |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Downs | 21 | 16 |
Passing 1st downs
| 14 | 10 |
Rushing 1st downs
| 6 | 5 |
1st downs from penalties
| 1 | 1 |
3rd down efficiency
| 9-16 | 7-13 |
4th down efficiency
| 1-1 | 0-0 |
| Total Plays | 68 | 52 |
| Total Yards | 362 | 348 |
| Yards per play | 5.3 | 6.7 |
| Total Drives | 10 | 9 |
| Passing | 230 | 248 |
Comp-Att
| 23-36 | 15-22 |
Yards per pass
| 6.1 | 10.3 |
Interceptions thrown
| 2 | 0 |
Sacks-Yards Lost
| 2-16 | 2-20 |
| Rushing | 132 | 100 |
Rushing Attempts
| 30 | 28 |
Yards per rush
| 4.4 | 3.6 |
| Red Zone (Made-Att) | 2-4 | 1-3 |
| Penalties | 5-35 | 6-60 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 0 |
Fumbles lost
| 1 | 0 |
Interceptions thrown
| 2 | 0 |
| Defensive / Special Teams TDs | 0 | 1 |
| Possession | 34:03 | 25:57 |
Scoring Summary
| FIRST QUARTER | CAR | SEA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | TD | 0:56 | Doug Baldwin 16 Yd pass from Russell Wilson (Steven Hauschka Kick)
Drive info: 4 plays, 28 yds, 1:26
| 0 | 7 |
| SECOND QUARTER | CAR | SEA | |||
 | TD | 7:44 | Kelvin Benjamin 7 Yd pass from Cam Newton (Graham Gano Kick)
Drive info: 14 plays, 79 yds, 8:12
| 7 | 7 |
| TD | 4:54 | Jermaine Kearse 63 Yd pass from Russell Wilson (Steven Hauschka Kick)
Drive info: 5 plays, 77 yds, 2:50
| 7 | 14 |
| FG | 0:00 | Graham Gano 35 Yd Field Goal
Drive info: 13 plays, 62 yds, 4:54
| 10 | 14 |
| FOURTH QUARTER | CAR | SEA | |||
| FG | 14:55 | Steven Hauschka 37 Yd Field Goal
Drive info: 12 plays, 69 yds, 6:32
| 10 | 17 |
| TD | 10:26 | Luke Willson 25 Yd pass from Russell Wilson (Steven Hauschka Kick)
Drive info: 6 plays, 58 yds, 2:27
| 10 | 24 |
| TD | 5:55 | Kam Chancellor 90 Yd Interception Return (Steven Hauschka Kick)
Drive info: 8 plays, 67 yds, 4:31
| 10 | 31 |
| TD | 2:34 | Kelvin Benjamin 15 Yd pass from Cam Newton (Graham Gano Kick)
Drive info: 8 plays, 83 yds, 3:21
| 17 | 31 |
Research Notes
Seattle
ranked 16th in football in offensive efficiency on third down this
season (1.6). They posted a 10.9 offensive efficiency on third down
against Carolina on Saturday, their highest mark of the season.
|
Russell Wilson
was 8-of-8 for 199 yards and 3 TD on third down Saturday. Wilson's 3
third-down pass TD are more than he had in the ENTIRE regular season.
- Wilson's 24.9 yards per attempt on third down were the highest by a
qualified quarterback in a game this season.
[+] |
Russell Wilson
had the best day of any quarterback in a playoff game on 3rd down over
the last 10 seasons. His 199 passing yards ranks 1st, and his 24.9
passing yards per attempt is 7 yards better than the next-best
quarterback. He finished a perfect 8-for-8, while throwing 3 TD.
[+] |
Russell Wilson
had multiple completions on passes traveling more than 20 yards
downfield for the fifth straight game. Wilson didn't have multiple
completions on deep passes in any of his first 12 games of the season.
Meanwhile, Cam Newton had the same number of completions (1) and interceptions on such throws Saturday.
- The last time Wilson had 3 completions on deep passes was last season's NFC Championship against the 49ers.
[+] |
- Russell Wilson had multiple TD against a defensive back blitz for the first time in his career.
- Cam Newton was 7-of-9 with 2 TD targeting Kelvin Benjamin. Newton was 16-of-27 with 2 Int targeting all other Panthers.
- The Panthers allowed 54 rush yards outside the tackles, the second-most they have allowed in a game this season.
|
Richard Sherman (SEA): 1st career postseason interception
|
The
Seahawks will look to continue their dominance at home. Over the last 3
seasons, they've had 9 games holding opponents to single-digit points -
the most in the NFL over that span.
Their .917 win percentage (22-2) at home is the tied with the Broncos
for the NFL's best since the start of 2012.
[+] |
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