Third Down Mastery Helps Seahawks Tame Panthers, Puts Team on Brink of NFC’s Top Seed
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Knotted up in a 3-3 tie early in the third quarter, the Seattle Seahawks desperately needed a break to fall their way on offense as they found themselves deadlocked in a defensive slugfest on the road against the Carolina Panthers.
Only a few plays earlier, Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold failed to bait Panthers cornerback Mike Jackson on a double move, uncorking an ugly interception to the back lefthand corner of the end zone to immediately thwart a prime scoring opportunity. But after defensive end Demarcus Lawrence returned the favor by forcing and recovering a fumble against running back Chuba Hubbard on the very next snap, the offense had another chance to cash in and this time, they turned to an emerging star to get the job done.
Facing 3rd and 9 from the Carolina 20-yard line, Darnold took the shotgun snap and fired a dart over the middle to AJ Barner, who turned upfield still needing several yards to get past the sticks with multiple defenders in pursuit. Fighting for those yards and more proved to be no problem for the second-year tight end, however, as he shucked off multiple tacklers before finally being tripped up at the four-yard line, setting the stage for Zach Charbonnet to power past the goal line three plays later to retake a seven-point lead that the visitors would not relinquish, leading to a 27-10 road win to stay atop the NFC standings with one week left to play.
“I think my mindset is just find a way and get as much as I can,” Barner told reporters following the game. “Whether that's running through somebody or around someone. I'm just going to try and get as many yards as possible.”
Adding a 17-yard touchdown catch later in the third quarter, Barner hit 50 receptions and 500 yards on the season for the Seahawks on Sunday, making his latest contributions in the passing game count and then some.
“We all know what AJ's capable of, [I’m] so confident in him as a quarterback,” Darnold said of Barner’s accomplishments. “Obviously, he does a lot of stuff that people don't see, things that aren't going to show up in the stat sheet. But he does a great job in the pass game as well when we need him to, and he stepped up in a big way for us there today.”
For most of the first 30-plus minutes of action, Seattle’s usually potent offense had been asleep at the wheel. Continuing a troubling trend over the past five weeks and change where slow starts out of the gate have become too common for comfort, five first half drives resulted in two punts, a lost fumble, a turnover on downs, and a Jason Myers field goal, far from the desired results for a top-five scoring unit and a Super Bowl contender.
But with first place in the NFC West and a top seed in the playoffs hanging in the balance, Barner’s latest heroics provided the necessary juice to wake up the entire offense. One of four conversions on 3rd and 9 or longer on the afternoon for the Seahawks, including one via penalty, his clutch catch highlighted the value of excelling in situational football even on a day where not much else had been working on that side of the football.
Earlier in the game, Darnold had delivered a strike on 3rd and 10 to star receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba on the opening series, extending a drive that seemed dead in the water with back-to-back incompletions. Later in the first quarter, running back Zach Charbonnet took a pitch out of shotgun on 3rd and 15, somehow managing to get outside behind several key blocks on the perimeter, including one from reserve left tackle Josh Jones, before slipping through a couple tackles to pick up 25 yards and move the chains.
“It's huge. It’s something that we’ve been working on a ton—just kind of that third and longer,” Darnold remarked. “I felt like our guys really stepped up. Our offensive line blocked their butts off all game. We had a lot of guys in the skill group step up and make some huge plays as well. So just a great all around effort by those guys on those third downs.
While Smith-Njigba’s catch didn’t bear fruit on the scoreboard, Charbonnet’s run moved the Seahawks into opposing territory and Jason Myers connected from 48 yards out to give the visitors their first lead at 3-0. Barner’s crucial 3rd and 9 reception with plenty of yards after the catch as well as a back-breaking facemask penalty on 3rd and 21 against Smith-Njigba in the fourth quarter led to a total of 10 points, helping put away the Panthers late on their home turf.
Overall, Seattle converted nine out of 16 third down opportunities for a 56% conversion rate, with close to half of those being nine yards or longer to go, providing a major boost for an offense that unfortunately put itself in tough spots behind the sticks more than it would have liked to on Sunday. But as impressive as those numbers were, coach Mike Macdonald’s defense wasn’t going to be topped.
In the first half alone, a swarming Seahawks defense allowed just 65 total yards of offense to the Panthers, including holding quarterback Bryce Young to 16 passing yards and barely a yard per attempt, and didn’t allow a single third down conversion on six opportunities. After giving up an 11-yard carry to Rico Dowdle on the first play from scrimmage, Carolina totaled seven yards on its next nine offensive snaps, punting a trio of times. Another first half drive ended with a turnover on downs on a 4th and 4 incompletion.
From Macdonald’s vantage point, tackling made the biggest difference for Seattle, starting with safety Ty Okada hauling down Dowdle for a two-yard loss on a swing pass to help force the first punt on the opening series. From there, open field tackling was on point at all three levels, preventing a Carolina offense that recently put up 31 points on the Los Angeles Rams in an upset victory from finding any success generating big plays after the catch.
“This a good offense. They been moving the ball and they been creating explosives and been doing a great job recently,” Macdonald said. “It's because they’ve got great players, great scheme, the whole nine. Those are some open-field tackles as well that those guys were making, and those were critical yards. I mean, you miss that tackle, now you're in a third and two, this is a great fourth down team. Kind of the shape of that drive really takes a turn when you're able to staple guys.”
Moments after Barner’s big third down catch and Charbonnet’s first touchdown run in the third quarter, that dominance on money downs continued for Seattle defensively in the second half. Looking to convert on 3rd and 4 from the Carolina 40-yard line, Young appeared to have rookie receiver Tetairoa McMillan wide open along the right sideline and as the ball came out of his hand, it looked like a surefire first down.
But veteran safety Julian Love had other plans. Successfully baiting Young, he undercut the route and picked off the pass with a running start, returning the interception 29 yards deep into Panthers territory. Finally back at full health after missing a large chunk of the season with a hamstring injury, he picked the ideal time to reel in his first pick of the year to shift momentum fully to the visiting sideline.
“I thought I was going to get the pick on the spray out route,” Love explained. “I saw the hitch and saw his eyes open up and was able to make a play on it.”
Four plays later, Barner cashed in yet again, snagging a bootleg pass from Darnold and running behind a key block from receiver Cooper Kupp to extend the lead to 17-3. Two quick turnovers had resulted in a 14-point swing.
Overall, Carolina converted on one out of 11 third down opportunities at a 9% clip, not moving the chains until their ninth third down and failing to hit 140 total yards of offense for the full game. Though they did extend drives twice with fourth down conversions, they weren’t much better in that department either, turning the ball over on downs on three out of five attempts as Seattle dictated the tone from start to finish.
As to be expected, Darnold immediately pointed to another slow start as an issue that needs corrected with the playoffs quickly approaching, and the quarterback had two more turnovers to increase his league-leading total to 20 on the season. Defensively, allowing a 13-play, 69-yard touchdown drive in the second half won’t sit well with veterans or youngsters alike, leaving plenty of areas for improvement that aren’t up to the lofty standards established under Macdonald’s leadership.
But if there’s a reason to truly be bullish about this Seahawks squad as a viable Lombardi Trophy contender, it lies in the fact that they continue to find different ways to win games even if everything isn’t firing on all cylinders. One week, it may be crazy two-point conversions that help turn the tide. Another, it may be a couple quick turnovers and a few critical third down conversions that shift the narrative as was the case in Sunday’s contest.
Regardless of how Lawrence and Seattle ultimately get it done each week, all that matters is the final tally on the scoreboard. Closing in on an NFC West title and a potential bye in the playoffs, even if the first half offensive performance wasn’t where it needs to be and nobody will be looking ahead with a massive finale in Santa Clara on tap next weekend, the success on third downs on both sides of the ball bodes well for continuing to win into January.
“One game at a time,” Lawrence said. “We got San Francisco next and we’re going to make sure we take care of business. It’s in our hands and all we have to do is grasp it.”
