The Seattle Seahawks trounced the visiting Carolina Panthers 37-27 on Sunday afternoon thanks to five field goals from Jason Myers and two touchdowns on the ground by Kenneth Walker III.
Walker helped the Seahawks (2-1) to their second straight victory by rushing for a game-high 97 yards on 18 attempts. He also added three catches for 59 yards.
Bryce Young, the first overall choice in this year’s NFL draft, was hurt; veteran quarterback Andy Dalton took over for the Panthers (0-3), who were missing their starting quarterback. Dalton threw for 361 yards and two touchdowns on 34 of his 58 completions. With 1:40 left, Adam Thielen has 11 receptions for 145 yards, including a 15-yard touchdown.
Geno Smith of Seattle completed 23 of his 36 passes for 296 yards, one touchdown (a 5-yard toss to rookie Jake Bobo with 4:17 remaining), one interception, and one touchdown. Six catches totaled 112 yards for DK Metcalf.
On their fourth attempt inside the 20-yard line, the Seahawks finally reached the end zone. With 3:52 remaining in the third quarter, Walker scored on a 1-yard run to increase Seattle’s lead to 22-13. Walker caught 36 yards for the eight-play, 55-yard drive on a first-and-21 play.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, the Panthers responded with a 1-yard run from Miles Sanders, making the score 22-20.
Walker waltzed untouched into the end zone on a 7-yard run around the right end to restore the Seahawks’ nine-point lead as they quickly marched back down the field.
Carolina led 13-12 at the break with six field goals made by both teams.
With 4:54 remaining in the second quarter, Dalton connected with DJ Chark Jr. along the left sideline for the only touchdown of the half, giving the Panthers a 10-9 advantage. Near the 20-yard line, Chark received the pass, avoided a defender, and sailed into the end zone.
Myers made kicks of 43, 35, and 33 yards to increase the score to 9-3 after Eddy Pineiro’s 47-yard field goal gave the Panthers the lead.
With 2:39 remaining in the first half, Pineiro added a 44-yard field goal to make it 13-9 in favor of the Panthers. With 44 seconds left, Myers nailed a 37-yard field goal to bring the Seahawks within one point.
With 9:45 remaining in the third quarter, Myers made a 39-yard field goal to give Seattle a permanent lead.
