One of the defining factors of the Pete Carroll era was how many times the Seattle Seahawks faced off against the Carolina Panthers. Everyone thinks of the showdowns with the San Francisco 49ers, and with good reason. But Seahawks vs. Panthers became a sneakily good rivalry.
At the center of it was superstar Carolina quarterback Cam Newton. For a stretch there, Newton was one of the greatest one-man weapons in the league. Not many teams were able to stop, or even slow down, Newton.
Except for the Seahawks, that is.
Newton recently sat down with Shannon Sharpe, and the topic of Russell Wilson came up. Newton compared Wilson’s time in Denver to Seattle, and inevitably it brought up what it was like facing the Legion of Boom. The clip can be seen below, but please be advised there is some brief NSFW language.
Cam Newton talks about what it was like playing Seattle in the LOB era#Seahawks pic.twitter.com/Rvpm7sheqW
— ᴅᴏxx ⚡️ (@new_era72) April 11, 2024
When Newton says these teams felt like division rivals, he is not wrong. From 2010-2019, there were only two years (2011 and 2017) when Seattle and Carolina did not meet. In two of those years, 2014 and 2015, the Panthers and Seahawks faced each other in the regular season and the playoffs. Each beat the other on the way to a Super Bowl appearance.
Newton brings up another great point. Perhaps the greatest feature of the Carroll Seahawks was the fact this team never felt out of it. You can probably count on two hands how many games in 14 years Seattle truly did not feel like they had a chance to win. Even when they were being blown out, there was a sense they could get hot at any moment.
It will be interesting to see if new head coach Mike Macdonald can create that magic in his own way.
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