Carolina Panthers vs Seattle Seahawks Box Score on Oct 18, 2015

The Sports Xchange
Oct 18, 2015

SEATTLE -- Carolina quarterback Cam Newton hit tight end Greg Olsen on a 26-yard touchdown pass with 32 seconds remaining as the Panthers kept their unbeaten record in tact with a 27-23 win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.

Olsen caught seven passes for 131 yards and the touchdown, which came on a pass over the middle between trailing defenders Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman.

Newton completed 20 of 36 passes for 269 yards and the touchdown and also ran for a score as the Panthers improved to 5-0 for the first time since 2004, when Carolina made its only Super Bowl appearance.

Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart ran 20 times for 78 yards and scored two touchdowns. All four of Carolina's touchdown drives covered 80 yards.

Seattle (2-4) jumped out to a 17-7 halftime lead and was ahead 20-7 early in the third quarter before the Panthers started their comeback. Three of Carolina's final four possessions resulted in 80-yard scoring drives, and the Panthers had to overcome a missed extra point that left them trailing by three points, at 23-20, with 3:55 remaining.

Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch returned from a hamstring injury to score a touchdown, while tight end Jimmy Graham caught eight passes for 140 yards. Kicker Steven Hauschka booted three field goals, two of which came after Newton interceptions.

But the Seahawks' defense ended up giving up a crucial touchdown drive on the opponents' final possession of regulation for the second week in a row, having lost to Cincinnati in overtime the previous week.

Seattle gave up 383 yards of offense while Carolina won at Seattle for the first time in five meetings over a span of four seasons.

Each of the Panthers' first three 80-yard touchdown drives resulted in a 1-yard run. Stewart's second touchdown of the day cut the Seahawks' lead to 23-20 with 3:55 remaining, but kicker Graham Gano was wide left on the extra point.

Seattle turned a three-point halftime lead into a 17-7 advantage on its opening drive of the second half. Seahawks receiver Ricardo Lockette reached over Carolina defender Kurt Coleman to haul in a 40-yard touchdown pass from Russell Wilson as Seattle opened up a 10-point lead.

Chancellor's interception, which came when teammate Cliff Avril hit Newton's arm on the Carolina quarterback’s release, led to a 50-yard Hauschka field goal that increased Seattle’s lead to 20-7 with 8:49 remaining in the third quarter.

The Panthers responded with an 11-play, 80-yard drive that culminated in a 1-yard touchdown run by Stewart, cutting the deficit to 20-14.

After another Hauschka field goal early in the fourth quarter, the Panthers offense put together another 80-yard drive that ended with another Stewart touchdown with 3:55 left.

Carolina got the ball back with 2:20 remaining, trailing by three points, and Newton completed 6-of-6 passes for 89 yards – he was also sacked for a nine-yard loss – on the Panthers' final possession, culminating in the touchdown pass to Olsen.

Seattle had one final chance to win the game, but the Seahawks’ last drive stalled out near midfield.

Seattle's Thomas set up the first score of the game with a first-quarter interception, leading to a Hauschka field goal for a 3-0 Seattle lead with 5:37 remaining in the first quarter. Newton recovered from that to engineer a 14-play, 80-yard drive, finishing it off with a 1-yard run to put the Panthers ahead 7-3 early in the second quarter.

The Seahawks' offense came right back with a long drive of its own, going 90 yards and taking a 10-7 lead on a 1-yard run from Lynch with eight minutes left in the first half.

Wilson was sacked four times -- a total of 26 this season -- and pressured most of the game.

A chippy first half resulted in eight penalties. Seattle was penalized on three consecutive plays during its final drive of the half, while Carolina was flagged for three false starts.

NOTES: Star players returned from injury for both sides as Seattle RB Marshawn Lynch (hamstring) played for the first time in three games and Carolina MLB Luke Kuechly (concussion) returned after missing three games. … The Seahawks were without MLB Bobby Wagner (pectoral muscle), which forced them to move OLB K.J. Wright into the middle while starting Kevin Pierre-Louis in Wright's spot. … Carolina CB Teddy Williams suffered a concussion during a first-quarter kickoff and did not return to the game.