While some Panthers fans weren't thrilled to draw Seattle in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, Carolina's players never felt that way.
"I didn't want to play anyone else," safety Roman Harper said last week, setting the tone for Sunday's 31-24 win over a Seahawks team coming off two straight trips to the Super Bowl.
Did it mean more to knock off a known NFC heavy?
"A little sweeter," defensive tackle Kawann Short said, per The Charlotte Observer. "Those guys had our number. We knew we were the better team, we just had to come out and play better."
Short was a game-plan wrecker on Sunday, tallying a sack and pressuring the pocket all day for a rowdy defense that piled up five takedowns and 14 total hits on Seattle's Russell Wilson.
The Seahawks mined their way back in, but Carolina's 31-0 lead at the half was too much to overcome. The win lifted the Panthers to 2-0 against Seattle this season and erased the sting of four consecutive losses -- including a playoff defeat last January -- to the Seahawks.
"They're a good team. They're not winning by accident," Panthers tight end Greg Olsen said of Seattle. "They have a lot of good players, good system. For us, we've said all along, the path to being relevant here is to knock off some of these teams that have haunted us and kind of ruled the NFC for a while. This was a good start."
A good start, a changing of the guard, call it what you will: These Panthers are no fluke.
