By STEVE REED AP Sports Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Seattle Seahawks and Carolina Panthers both need a win and some help when it comes to the playoff picture.
Sam Darnold and the Seahawks (12-3) have already clinched a spot in the postseason, but can secure the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye in the NFC with a win over the Panthers combined with losses or ties by both the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams.
The Panthers (8-7) need to win the NFC South to snap a seven-year playoff drought.
They can do that this week with a win over the Seahawks combined with a Tampa Bay Buccaneers loss or tie. However, a win by the Bucs would force a Week 18 showdown in Tampa Bay for the division title regardless of how the Panthers do against the Seahawks.
“It’s a championship opportunity and that’s the way we have to view it,” said Panthers coach Dave Canales, who got his start in the NFL as an assistant coach with the Seahawks under Pete Carroll.
Canales storyline is just one to follow.
Darnold will be making his first appearance against the Panthers since the organization allowed him to leave via free agency after the 2022 season.
Darnold appeared in 18 games for Carolina across two seasons, going 8-9 as a starter with as many touchdown passes (16) as interceptions. His career didn’t take off until a breakout season in 2024 with the Minnesota Vikings. He has followed that up with another big year in Seattle after stepping in to replace Geno Smith.
Darnold has led Seattle to five straight wins including a dramatic 38-37 overtime victory over the Rams last week, and said he doesn’t harbor any resentment against the Panthers for giving up on him. He views his time in Carolina as important for his career.
“I think that first year I learned a lot about myself, just going through adversity and learning that way, and then that second year battled through an injury throughout the first half of the season.,” Darnold said. “Then I came out on the other side and was able to play some pretty good football toward the end of that season. I feel like that kind of gave me momentum going into that next year (with the Vikings).
“So I learned a lot of good football in that last year in Carolina, especially.”
A bag of chips
Cornerback Mike Jackson has been a huge addition for the Panthers since being acquired in a trade with Seattle before last season for linebacker Michael Barrett, a 2024 seventh-round draft pick by Carolina.
Jackson has established himself as a reliable starter opposite two-time Pro Bowl selection Jaycee Horn and is tied for the league lead in pass breakups with 17.
Barrett never played a down for Seattle and is currently out of the league.
“Man, they got me for a bag of chips,” Jackson said of the trade.
Jackson said he realized his time in Seattle was coming to an end when he saw the team’s depth chart at cornerback before last season.
“You don’t get mad when somebody shows you how they feel about you,” Jackson said. “You just kind of take it and keep going.”
Hall serving suspension
The Seahawks will be without linebacker Derick Hall, who had his one-game suspension for unnecessary roughness and unsportsmanlike conduct upheld on Monday.
Hall was suspended without pay for stepping on the leg of Los Angeles Rams guard Kevin Dotson at the end of a play in the Seahawks’ 38-37 overtime win.
Defensive lineman Leonard Williams came to Hall’s defense on Tuesday, and said he was surprised to see his teammate suspended.
“I didn’t, obviously, look at every second of the film and clip that happened,” Williams said, “but I don’t know of my teammate, Derick Hall, as a dirty player and I can’t imagine that he would intentionally try to hurt a player.”
Hall, 24, has appeared in 13 games and started three for Seattle this season. He has 29 total tackles and one sack.
Changing win-loss pattern
The inconsistent Panthers have followed up each of their four victories with a loss.
Canales is willing to do anything he can to snap that trend Sunday following his team’s 23-20 win over rival Tampa Bay last week.
The second-year head coach wouldn’t specifically say what he planned to do differently this week to mix things up, but earlier in the season he adjusted the team’s schedule before a road game against the New York Jets, resulting in a win that snapped a three-game road losing streak.
“I don’t know if that was a big difference, but it was a change,” Canales said. “I also want them to know we’re going to compete and then we’re going to compete to find any little edge that we possibly can, whether it’s the practice style, the meeting types or what time we set curfew and different things like that.”
Sublime Shaheed
Returner Rashid Shaheed has been surging for the Seahawks and was selected to the Pro Bowl for the second time in his career earlier this week.
Shaheed, acquired from the Saints in November, said making the Pro Bowl was toward the back of his list of goals for the 2025 season.
“I really never thought about it, but now that it’s here, it’s a surreal feeling,” Shaheed said. “I’m super thankful and blessed from this moment.”
Since arriving in Seattle via New Orleans, Shaheed has a punt return for a touchdown, as well as a kickoff return for a touchdown. Shaheed has also hauled in 13 passes for 178 yards.
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AP Sports Writer Andrew Destin contributed to this report.