The Seattle Seahawks honored the 2013 Super Bowl champion squad prior to Sunday’s matchup with the visiting Carolina Panthers.
Sparked by Lumen Field’s 12th man – the crowd – the current Seahawks played a lot like the inspired squad of a decade ago, earning a 37-27 victory.
Panthers coaches, at different times last week, warned against the potential of players losing focus because of the crowd noise. Their fears were realized.
Despite quarterback Andy Dalton invigorating a near-dormant offense, the undisciplined Panthers fell to 0-3 after committing 13 penalties, including eight false starts.
Carolina Panthers ‘O’ linemen work out last Thursday. With 8 false-start PIMs during Sunday’s loss at Seattle, the unit will take on extra attention during practices this week … pic.twitter.com/RYz9Gpbjtx
— Jeff Hawkins (@WriterHawkins) September 25, 2023
Frank Reich: ‘Number Of Penalties Was Totally Inexcusable, Pathetic’
Coach Frank Reich spoke of the potential of the Seahawks’ crowd causing chaos a few times. He set up a practice structure to prepare the players.
Reich’s frustration was evident during his post-game news conference, as reported by USAToday.com.
“Coming in, we knew the environment would be tough—good football and a tough place to play,” Reich said. “The number of penalties was totally inexcusable, pathetic.”
Among the main culprits, left tackle Ikem Ekwonu was whistled for four false starts and right tackle Taylor Moton drew two.
Reich’s disdain for the mental lapses appeared to grow during the presser. He linked the blame to the locker room and various coaches’ offices.
“That starts with me, as an offensive coach,” Reich said. “That starts with our offense coaches, getting our players ready. And that starts with our players. Unacceptable. It’s like we never played in the noise before.
“We knew it was coming, we practiced all week with noise. I mean, Wednesday it was so loud out there, you couldn’t even think.”
Much like Sunday.
After passing for 361 yards during Sunday’s loss at Seattle, will Carolina Panthers QB Andy Dalton (14) next lead the offense against the Vikings? … pic.twitter.com/UKiirYVUOw
— Jeff Hawkins (@WriterHawkins) September 25, 2023
Panthers QB Andy Dalton Delivers Career-High 58 Passes
Replacing Bryce Young, Dalton, a 13-year veteran, released a career-high 58 passes and compiled nearly surpassed the amount of passing yards the top-overall draft pick accumulated during his opening two starts.
“I wouldn’t have thought I would throw 58,” Dalton said. “I just think how the game went on and how things went … I mean, obviously, you’re going to be throwing almost every down. Trying to claw your way back in it. I think that inflates the number there, too.
In the Panthers’ opening two losses, Young appeared out-of-synch, throwing for 299 yards and failing to unlock the unit’s big-play abilities.
Dalton had 361 passing yards and two touchdown passes. His passer rating was 88.4. Young, who suffered an ankle injury last Monday, did not dress Sunday and could miss Sunday’s contest against the visiting Minnesota Vikings. Both clubs are 0-3.
If Dalton does draw a second start, he’ll push for a more balanced attack. Against the Seahawks, Reich called for just 14 running plays.
“We have to find a way to be balanced,” he said. “We gotta find a way to run the ball better than we did. And we didn’t run it good enough today.”
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