Bad officiating against the Seahawks is nothing new… but today’s game against the Panthers is next level atrocious. Zebras are missing EVERYTHING against Seattle, including both a facemask AND horse collar. Unacceptable. pic.twitter.com/ko7TTTuJcn

— Kole Musgrove (@KoleMusgrove23) December 28, 2025

The Seattle Seahawks earned a much-needed win over the Carolina Panthers, defeating them 27-10. With the road victory, Seattle has improved to 13-3 on the year. This is the first 13-win Seahawks team since 2013, and only the third in franchise history, having previously reached this record in 2005 as well. Winning 13 regular season games is the current franchise record for regular season wins in a single campaign, and they have an opportunity to set a new high water mark next week in Santa Clara.

The Seahawks went to the Super Bowl in 2005 and 2013 in both those 13-win seasons… which also lined up with Papal elections in both years (hmm… didn’t we just have another Conclave this past Spring?)

Like most Seattle games this year, the first half was a bit sluggish and the Seahawks appeared stuck in the mud. Seattle and Carolina went into the half tied at 3-3, but it wasn’t necessarily an indictment on the Hawks. Once more, the Seahawks had to contend with another team on the field, and the officials who had plenty of questionable “missed” calls, such as this facemask and horse collar the Panthers were able to get away with.

Seattle had won the coin toss and chose to defer for a second half kick off. However, their battle with the officials continued with their opening drive of the second half. Darnold threw an “interception” to former Seahawks cornerback Mike Jackson (who had been rather vocal at his displeasure with his former team earlier in the week). To the casual viewer, it appeared Jackson’s toe was out of bounds, but he was awarded the interception anyways.

Fortunately, the football gods sought to restore justice, and used Seahawks linebacker DeMarcus Lawrence as their agent. On Carolina’s first play after the interception, Lawrence recovered a fumble to give Seattle the ball right back. Lawrence has earned every bit of his fifth career Pro Bowl selection. Six plays later, Zach Charbonnet plunged into the end zone to give the Seahawks a 10-3 lead. Charbonnet became the first Seahawk since Marshawn Lynch in 2014 to have double digit rushing touchdowns.

Seattle’s defense has bailed the team out this year more times than the 12th Man can count, and they did so again only a few plays after the Charbonnet touchdown. Julian Love snagged an interception from Bryce Young, and forcefully swung momentum fully in the Seahawks’ direction. Granted another possession deep in Carolina’s territory, Seattle capitalized when Sam Darnold connected with AJ Barner for another touchdown to make it a 17-3 lead. Both highlights can be seen below.

The Panthers were not done yet, and managed to claw themselves back into striking distance. Carolina engineered a 13-play, 69-yard touchdown drive capped off by quarterback Bryce Young rushing 10 yards for a touchdown to cut Seattle’s lead to 17-10 with 13:48 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Seattle needed to keep the momentum going, at least long enough to preserve their lead. This is exactly what they managed to do. The Seahawks consumed over eight minutes of game time with a 14-play, 55-yard drive which resulted in another Jason Myers field goal. Seattle’s possession was extended on 3rd-and-21, when Panthers cornerback was finally called for another facemask penalty on Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The refs somehow “missed” the first one, but managed to catch a more critical one. Instead of punting, the Seahawks were able to keep things going and make it a 20-10 game with just over five-and-a-half minutes left in the game.

With the game feeling already out of reach, those feelings became reality. DeMarcus Lawrence sacked Young on third down to set up 4th-and-17, which the Panthers did not convert. Carolina turned the ball over on downs, gifting the Seahawks a third possession deep in their own territory. The Seahawks iced the game with a second Charbonnet touchdown five plays later to achieve the final 27-10 score. The Panthers then kneeled it out, surrendering to Seattle to end the game.

The Seahawks will now play to earn the No. 1 seed in the NFC next week in their rematch with the San Francisco 49ers, who will host the Chicago Bears on Sunday Night Football.