There have been many “first time since . . .” moments for the ascending Carolina Panthers here in 2025. And on Sunday, they can clinch the NFC South for the first time in a decade.

To do so, two specific outcomes must be achieved.

One, which is out of their hands, would see the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lose to or tie with the Miami Dolphins. The other, which’ll be up to them, must yield a win against the NFC-leading Seattle Seahawks.

But can they upset one of, if not the best team currently in the NFL?

Well, they’ve already done that twice this season—once against the Green Bay Packers in Week 9 and again against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 13. Both the Packers and Rams were, at the time, the No. 1 seed in the conference—but that didn’t scare the Panthers off.

Carolina, in both wins, secured the rock and won the turnover battles. Their offense took care of their possessions, as they were paced by a physical and reliable run game as well as some clutch play from quarterback Bryce Young.

And they can certainly do it again.

Seattle looks like a juggernaut at times. They may not be fielding the “Legion of Boom” defense we saw during the mid-2010s—but they still carry a daunting unit that’s allowed the second-fewest points per game.

The Seahawks offense is nothing to sneeze at either, thanks to another strong campaign from former Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold. Oh, and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba has been quite good as well—as he enters Week 17 with a league-leading 1,637 receiving yards.

But, as this season has proven time and time again, anyone can be beat.

The Panthers can muddy the waters on Darnold behind defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, who has done an admirable job of getting his group back together from a disastrous 2024. Carolina, especially recently, has thrown out a capable and opportunistic back seven that can turn the game on its head.

Carolina can also take advantage of inside zone and gap concepts that the Seattle run defense struggled with last week. They have the offensive linemen and tight ends who can set the tone by setting up lanes for running back Rico Dowdle and Chuba Hubbard.

If they establish themselves by getting those two things done, at least as a start, then the Panthers could be working towards their first win over the Seahawks since 2022 and, more importantly, their first winning record since 2017.

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