The Carolina Panthers, this week's opponent, are ranked as high as 18th by Bleacher Report and as low as 26th by Pro Football Talk.
Thanks to a 14-5 loss at Tampa Bay on Sunday, the Seahawks took a tumble for the most part in our weekly survey of NFL power rankings.
Seattle’s offensive line struggled mightily to protect quarterback Russell Wilson, allowing six sacks, and that led many of the national media members in our survey to downgrade the Seahawks (7-3-1) this week.
They are ranked as high as No. 2 by USA Today and as low as No. 8 by CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco.
Up next: the Carolina Panthers (4-7), who are coming off a 35-32 loss at Oakland on Sunday. Sunday’s kickoff at CenturyLink Field is 5:30 p.m., and NBC (Ch. 5) has the telecast. The Seahawks are favored by 6 1/2 points.
Most Read Sports Stories
The Panthers are ranked as high as 18th by Bleacher Report and as low as 26th by Pro Football Talk.
Here’s our roundup of Week 13 NFL power rankings:
Seahawks rank: 4 (2 last week).
Seahawks comment: The offensive line was the Seahawks’ biggest question mark coming into the season, and at this point it remains the biggest question: Was the performance in Tampa more an aberration or the norm?
Panthers rank: 24 (19).
Panthers comment: The Panthers led the NFL in scoring offense on the way to the Super Bowl a year ago; this year, Cam Newton and the Panthers rank 10th.
Top 5: 1, Dallas; 2, New England; 3, Oakland; 4, Seattle; 5, Kansas City.
Seahawks rank: 5 (2).
Seahawks comment: The rules for my college intramural flag-football league stated that linemen had to “block” while keeping their hands behind their backs, so I feel ya, Russell Wilson. The Seahawks now have been held under 10 points three different times. They still should win the NFC West and wind up with a first-round bye, but is their issue up front a fatal flaw?
Panthers rank: 22 (22).
Panthers comment: For a brief while on Sunday, as the Panthers used a 25–0 run to take a lead in Oakland, it was easy to remember how this team had won the NFC last season. Then they gave up a TD, killed their ensuing drive with a penalty, lost late and their 4–7 record seemed plenty legit again.
Top 5: 1, Dallas; 2, Oakland; 3, New England; 4; Kansas City; 5, Seattle.
Seahawks rank: 5 (4).
Seahawks offense, defense: 23, 2.
Panthers rank: 22.
Panthers offense, defense: 12, 17.
Top 5: 1, Dallas; 2, New England; 3; Oakland; 4, Atlanta; 5, Seattle.
MMQB’S FINE 15 (Jenny Vrentas)
Seahawks rank: 4 (2).
Seahawks comment: The Seahawks are a much better team with Earl Thomas and Michael Bennett, but most teams can say that about their star players. After a few weeks of looking dominant, the loss to the Bucs was a clunker of a game.
Panthers rank: Not ranked.
Top 5: 1, Dallas; 2, New England; 3, Oakland; 4, Seattle; 5, Kansas City.
Seahawks rank: 4 (2).
Seahawks comment: The Seahawks have the third-best record in the NFC, so there’s no need to panic. But Week 12 marked the third time this season that the Seahawks failed to score a touchdown. The Seahawks, with their 23rd-ranked scoring offense (20.4 points per game), host the Panthers in Week 13.
Panthers rank: 22 (20).
Panthers comment: QB Cam Newton has five touchdown passes in his past five games. Last season, he threw five touchdown passes in a game three times in a five-game span. The struggles continue for Newton, who will face the Seahawks on Sunday in Seattle.
Top 5: 1, Dallas; 2, Oakland; 3, New England; 4, Seattle; 5, Denver.
Seahawks rank: 5 (3).
Seahawks comment: Before Sunday, the Seahawks had led or been within one score in the fourth quarter of 98 straight games. That streak dated back to when Russell Wilson was still playing quarterback at Wisconsin. The streak ended against the Buccaneers. That’s an astonishing run.
Panthers rank: 24 (25).
Panthers comment: If you take away two great touchdown throws to Ted Ginn and Kelvin Benjamin, Cam Newton was 12-of-27 for 114 yards, no touchdowns and one interception against a Raiders defense that allows 7.9 yards per pass, tied for the second-worst mark in the league. You can’t discount an 88-yard touchdown and a 44-yard touchdown, but the magic Newton had last season hasn’t carried over. His 81.6 passer rating would be the worst of his career.
Top 5: 1, Dallas; 2, New England; 3, Oakland; 4, Kansas City; 5, Seattle.
Seahawks rank: 2 (2).
Seahawks comment: Cross-country flight. No Earl Thomas. No Michael Bennett. No Justin Britt, depleting already fragile O-line. Give them a pass this week.
Panthers rank: 24 (18).
Panthers comment: Every time it looks like the defense is getting dissected in a seven-on-seven drill, we’re left to wonder about the Josh Norman divorce.
Top 5: 1, Dallas; 2; Seattle; 3, New England; 4, Atlanta; 5, Oakland.
Seahawks rank: 4 (2).
Seahawks comment: Welp, all that speculation regarding Seattle running the table and being the team to beat got sacked down in Tampa. Russell Wilson got face-planted six times, including a few uber-important sacks from the Bucs’ pass rush late. Sure bet Wilson wanted to take an Uber straight out of the big pirate ship, as he ran for his life for much of the first half. The takeaways here are better: A) The Seahawks’ defense held Tampa Bay to 14 points (sans Earl Thomas) despite getting virtually nothing from the Seattle offense, and B) Wilson was healthy enough to rush for more yards in this game (80) than he had all season entering Week 12 (79).
Panthers rank: 25 (24).
Panthers comment: Valiant comeback push from the woebegone Panthers in Oakland. Down 24-7, the Panthers were looking like a haggard group ready to pack it in, both for a long plane flight home and, frankly, an even longer offseason. But Carolina didn’t quit. Cam Newton, Ted Ginn Jr. and Thomas Davis (as usual) picked it up for everybody else, as the Panthers scored 25 unanswered points in the second half. Unfortunately, lack of protection and a football jussst off the fingertips of the great Greg Olsen did the defending NFC Champs in, probably for the season.
Top 5: 1, Dallas; 2, New England; 3, Oakland; 4, Seattle; 5, New York Giants.
Seahawks rank: 8 (5).
Seahawks comment: The offensive line has to get better. Tampa Bay beat them up last week, and Russell Wilson had issues.
Panthers rank: 24 (23).
Panthers comment: Their playoff chances are about done, which means it’s a full Super Bowl hangover. It has never looked right.
Top 5: 1, Dallas; 2, New England; 3, Oakland; 4, New York Giants; 5, Kansas City.
Seahawks rank: 7 (2).
Seahawks comment: For the third time this season, the Seahawks failed to score double-digit points in a game. The offense was atrocious against the Buccaneers, whose defense is far from elite. Seattle’s defense remains a top-five unit, but the offense is far too inconsistent to crown the Seahawks as one of the five best teams in the league right now. They have some things to figure out.
Panthers rank: 25 (22).
Panthers comment: Ron Rivera didn’t appear to trust Cam Newton much, opting to punt to the Raiders on fourth-and-1 rather than going for it in the fourth quarter. It’s become clear that Newton has to play like an MVP for this team to win games. The defense is a complete mess that needs rebuilding in the offseason.
Top 5: 1, Dallas; 2, New England; 3, Oakland; 4, Atlanta; 5, New York Giants.
Seahawks rank: 6 (3).
Seahawks comment: If the road to the Super Bowl doesn’t go through Seattle, the Seahawks likely won’t be playing there.
Panthers rank: 26 (24).
Panthers comment: OK, it’s finally time to insert the fork.
Top 5: 1, Dallas; 2, Oakland; 3, New England; 4, New York Giants; 5, Kansas City.
Seahawks rank: 3 (based on Super Bowl odds, 5.5-1).
Seahawks comment: None.
Panthers rank: 18 (50-1).
Panthers comment: None.
Top 5: 1, New England; 2, Dallas; 3, Seattle; 4, Oakland; 5, Pittsburgh.
Seahawks rank: 7 (2).
Seahawks comment: None.
Panthers rank: 21 (21).
Panthers comment: None.
Top 5: 1, Dallas; 2, Oakland; 3, New England; 4, Atlanta; 5, New York Giants.