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The Seattle Seahawks aim for their third-straight trip to the NFC Championship, but for the first time they’ll have to do it via the road.
Pete Carroll’s squad, which has been so dominant at home during its current reign of excellence, will instead have to travel to Carolina to take on the Panthers, who transcended the NFL on their way to a 15-1 record during the regular season.
Here’s a complete look at the all the betting info, along with a prediction and pick against the spread for the crucial divisional-round matchup:
Seahawks vs. Panthers Betting Info
Spread: Carolina (-3)
Moneyline: Seattle (+105), Carolina (-125)
Over/Under: 44
Seahawks vs. Panthers Prediction
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Which Seahawks offense should you expect to see? The one that dominated the NFL over the second half of the season, averaging 32.0 points per game in their last seven, including a 36-point outburst against the Arizona Cardinals, Football Outsiders’ No. 3 ranked defense? Or that one that struggled to 4.0 yards per play and 10 points against the Minnesota Vikings in the sub-zero temperatures last weekend?
In all reality, it will probably be somewhere in the middle. But it would be erroneous to think that what the Seahawks showed last week in the third-coldest game in NFL history is indicative of what they bring on offense. Russell Wilson is still a dangerous dual-threat who has continued to elevate his game as a passer, and the return of Marshawn Lynch should provide a boost to the ground game.
On the other side of the ball, though, Cam Newton is probably the MVP of the league, Greg Olsen feasted against this defense back in Week 6 and Jonathan Stewart also returns from his own injury.
In other words, while these are undoubtedly two of the best defenses in the NFL, both offenses have an array of talent and should be able to move the ball. Matchups between these two teams in the recent past have been unsurprisingly physical, but they did combine for 50 points when they played earlier in the year.
This is a battle that likely comes down to the last possession or who makes a key takeaway. And in a close game like that, I’ll go with Seattle’s experience over Carolina’s home-field advantage.
PICK: Seahawks 24, Panthers 23 (Seahawks SU, Seahawks ATS, Over)