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Bold Prediction: Seahawks @ Panthers

The Seahawks went 10-6. The Panthers went 15-1.

The Seahawks lucked into a wild card win on a missed field goal chip shot. The Panthers sat at home and got rest.

The Seahawks don’t have the home field advantage they have enjoyed the last two Super Bowl seasons. The Panthers haven’t lost a game at home all year.

The Panthers actually went into Seattle and beat them once already this year.

The two teams have played each other 5 times in the last 4 seasons with 4 of those games being decided by 5 points or less. The only one that was’t was last years divisional round with a late pick-six my Kam Chancellor in a very close game.

Conventional wisdom tells you that the Panthers have proven themselves the better team all season long. It also tells you that even in defeat they have played Seattle incredibly tough no matter when or where the game has been played. Vegas has placed the Panthers as anywhere from a 2 to 3 point favorite with the eventual MVP and home field on their side. Every analyst you hear speaks to this matchup as a dog fight between two great defenses and lead by two emerging superstars at quarterback. This has the feeling as a game that will go down to the wire with one team needed a late drive to send them to the NFC Championship game. Based on how this year has gone this has to be the Panthers year with them prevailing late one again and finally sending the Seahawks home right?….. Wrong

Sports doesn’t follow conventional wisdom. It doesn’t care what happened last year, earlier this season, or even last week. This game isn’t played on paper by matching up personal and statistics to compute the final outcome. This Seahawks team has dealt with the most difficult circumstances any team can imagine. One yard away from another Super Bowl only for it to be snatched away my Malcom Butler. Their most important defensive player and leader sitting out the first few weeks of the season. And then there is Beast Mode. The heart and soul of the team and the player who gave them their hard-nosed identity has been  hurt for most of the year. All of these issues showed loud and clear as the team stubbled to a 2-4 start and fell too far back in the NFC West to contend. But these issues also brought this team closer, made them work a little bit harder, and resulted in others, mainly Russell Wilson, steeping up and the offense finally flying higher than ever before. This team steam rolled people down the stretch and will use what some are calling a second life after the Minnesota game to show the world that the NFC’s bully on the block are still alive. Sorry Panthers you will have to wait until next year.

Prediction: Seahawks 34 Panthers 17