Cam Newton

Through three quarters, the Carolina Panthers' quarterback was again getting shut down by the Seahawks. Heading into the fourth, he was 9-of-26 for 119 yards and two interceptions. He then went 12-of-15 for 162 yards and a touchdown that capped off his ninth career game-winning drive in the fourth quarter.

"When you get a late touchdown like this in a hostile environment, it just puts everything into perspective on why you play so hard, why you play through injuries. When you look in the huddle and see 10 guys looking back at you, you can’t let those guys down," Newton said. "When Greg [Olsen] caught that ball, there was so much that was bottled up inside of me, and everybody else was thinking the same thing. It’s a game of resiliency and never giving up.”

 

Jonathan Stewart

It's been a rough start to the season for Stewart, who's constantly faced at least eight men in the box from defenses that don't respect the Panthers' passing game. His 78 yards Sunday may not seem like much, but he ran ridiculously hard and had his first multi-touchdown game since 2009.

“You could tell that every single snap he was going to get as many yards as he possibly can, every single time," right tackle Mike Remmers said. "It’s really inspiring for the offensive linemen to go out there and give it their all because we love that guy, and we know he is going to everything he can. The least we can do is go out there and block everyone.”

 

Greg Olsen

Two games after Olsen set a single-game career high with 134 receiving yards against the Saints, he went for 131 in Seattle. Olsen could have scored three times, but he'll have to settle for a 26-yard game-winner.

“It was the same play we called the series prior – I got tackled down at the 1," Olsen said. "We called the exact same play out of the exact same formation. We got another really good look – I was able to kind of get up in that post and between that coverage with the corner and whoever the single-high guy was – I don’t know what happened on their side, but there was a lot of space to run and Cam put the ball out there.”

 

Devin Funchess

You could certainly disagree with this since the rookie had as many drops (three) Sunday as he had catches coming into the game. But he held onto his final two targets, including a huge 16-yard pickup on 2nd-and-19 during the game-winning drive.

"It's just like basketball," Funchess said afterward. "You miss it, you miss it, you miss it, then you get that one and you're good."

 

Seahawks' Struggles

For the fourth time this season, Seattle blew a fourth-quarter lead. The Seahawks have allowed 64 points in the first through third quarters this year and 61 in the fourth quarter and overtime. Something is wrong with the Seahawks. Or, some things.

"There’s a lot that goes into it. I know you guys really want to figure out what it is and pinpoint it. It’s not like that. There’s a lot going on," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. "There’s just some plays in there. It’s not just one style; it’s not just the tight end. It’s not any of that stuff. I’m sorry it’s not like that for you. We still have to find our way; we need one more play. We need one more first down. It’s across the board.”

 

Red-Zone Offense

In their past three regular-season losses to the Seahawks, the Panthers were 1-of-6 in the red zone. Sunday, they scored touchdowns on all three of their trips inside the 20 and each of their four scoring drives went 80 yards.

"On one of those drives I know we didn’t even throw the ball, and if we did, it wasn’t anything significant," Newton said.

 

Luke Kuechly

Rivera said the Panthers would take Kuechly out for a handful of plays in his first game in more than a month. Yeah, that didn't happen. Kuechly looked just fine racking up a game-high 14 tackles, his most since he had 15 against the Bears last October. And his plans for the five and a half hour plane ride back?

"I'm going to try to take a nap, maybe try to watch a movie."

 

Run Defense

Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch scored against the Panthers for the first time since 2010, but he continues to be less than a beast when facing Carolina. Lynch, who was limited to 54 yards on 17 carries, is averaging just 3.65 a carry in his past five meetings with the Panthers.

"You've got to get guys around him," Kuechly said when asked what the Panthers do to contain Lynch. "He's going to break tackles; that's what he does. He's a monster; he runs really hard, but if you can get a ton of guys around him, it kind of limits what he's going to do a little bit."

 

Josh Norman

There was just one a shutdown corner on the field Sunday. It appeared Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson didn't throw Norman's way once.

"He was the smartest quarterback we've played so far this year because of that," Norman said.

 

Coverage Units

Despite the addition of special teams aces this offseason, the Panthers' coverage units hadn't improved drastically. But they were rock solid against Tyler Lockett, the Seahawks' electrifying rookie returner. Unfortunately for the Panthers, a couple players paid a price while making great tackles. Cornerback Teddy Williams suffered a concussion in the second quarter and linebacker Shaq Thompson injured his knee bringing Lockett down at the 9-yard line after the Panthers' go-ahead score.

“That was a huge play. I believe that play set the tempo for that last drive," linebacker Thomas Davis said. "Shaq went down, full-speed, and made the play for us. I think that ultimately ended up being the biggest play of the game.”

Thompson said he hopes it was just a sprain, but he'll have an MRI on Monday.