CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In a locker room that included several offensive players lamenting their inability to get anything going until the fourth quarter, the Seattle Seahawks defenders had the opposite problem.
After three quarters of shutout ball, the Seahawks couldn’t get the proverbial final three outs.
The Carolina Panthers scored all 13 of their points and accounted for 40 percent of their offense in the fourth quarter alone, leading the way to a 13-10 win over the Seahawks. After shutting down Carolina’s offense for 45 minutes, the Seattle defense failed to close the deal.
“We’ve just got to keep people off the (score)board on defense,” middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu said. “There’s no reason to give up 13 points after not giving up any in the first three quarters. I’m not pleased with the way we played. We’ve just got to keep working.”
For most of the game, Seattle’s defense was working the Panthers.
Under rookie quarterback Matt Moore, Carolina had just one first down during the opening quarter of the game. Seven first-half drives resulted in five punts, a missed field goal and a one-play drive at the end of the second quarter.
But the Panthers started to find a rhythm after halftime, and early in the fourth quarter Carolina scored the first points of the game with a field goal.
The Panthers’ John Kasay added another field goal on the next drive, and then disaster struck.
Trailing 6-3, the Seahawks were one stop away from getting a shot at the game-winning drive. Seattle burned its final two timeouts while forcing Carolina into a third-and-5 from the Seahawks’ 35-yard line with 1:24 remaining. Anything less than a five-yard gain would probably give Seattle’s offense the last shot at driving down the field.
Looking to burn some more seconds off the clock, the Panthers called a simple running play on third down. Running back DeAngelo Williams took a step to his left before cutting through a huge hole on the right side and running untouched for a 35-yard touchdown.
“It was an eight-man front, and I’m not sure what happened. (Williams) just cut back,” safety Jordan Babineaux said, referring to a Seattle defensive package that included three safeties and eight players in the box.
Babineaux, who was the last player seen chasing Williams as he ran into the end zone, spoke for the entire defense in his inability to explain. No one could specify what went wrong other than to say it was a problem with gap control.
That play, and the rest of the fourth quarter, overshadowed an otherwise solid performance from Seattle’s defense.
“It was frustrating on all levels,” Seahawks safety Brian Russell said. “We felt like we shouldn’t have allowed any points. But you have to give them credit. They found a couple ways to get things done.
“I don’t want to take anything away from them, but we’re frustrated in our performance.”
The offensive players were also frustrated after waiting three quarters to find a groove. Seattle had 175 of its 282 yards, and all 10 of its points, in the fourth quarter.
Asked to provide the last time his offense had played so poorly, wide receiver Bobby Engram was at a loss.
“It’s been a while,” he said. “I’ve been here seven years, and I have to think back to the beginning when we had some bad East Coast swings. That was a long time ago.”
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