Charles Godfrey was far from the only guy playing poorly on the Panthers’ sputtering defense, but he was clearly struggling. The former safety was not a good fit at nickel corner, but his somewhat surprising release on Tuesday may act as a wake-up call for the disappointing defense.

“Any time moves are made, and things you do gets peoples’ attention, that’s always a positive,” head coach Ron Rivera said Wednesday. “This business really is about production, and it’s tough sometimes, but the unintended consequences sometimes can be valuable.”

Rivera desperately needs his defense to find its footing after a disastrous five weeks. The Panthers allowed just 21 points during a 2-0 start, but they have given up 174 points since Week 3. Now, they face a Sunday matchup with the Seahawks, who have won each of the last two years in Charlotte.

At 3-3, Seattle is reeling as well, but they are the defending Super Bowl champs.

“I don’t think their record is indicative of who they are,” Rivera said.

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The Seahawks have lost two straight, including last week to the 1-4 Rams. But they have the No. 2 rushing attack in the league; quarterback Russell Wilson has the 5th-best passer rating; and while their defense has tumbled from the No. 1 spot they sat in last season, Seattle is still capable of shutting an offense down.

“It’s the same team, if you ask me. Their core guys are still there,” Panthers quarterback Cam Newton said. “They have a very dominant secondary, a physical secondary that does not hesitate to come downhill and play with reckless abandon and do bodily harm to the opposing team.

“As a fan of the game, you kind of like watching that from your TV. But when you’re out there playing the game, you’ve got to make sure your chinstrap is tightened up a little tighter, and understand that executing the gameplan is going to be at a premium this week, more than any other week.”

The Panthers are in the middle of a brutal five-game stretch against teams that all went to the playoffs last year. So far they have tied the Bengals and were blown out by the Packers. After the Seahawks, they will host the Saints before traveling to Philadelphia for a Monday night game.

But while the Panthers are in a very precarious position, they are also fortunate to be in what has turned out to be the weakest division in football. So if they can manage to answer the wake-up calls, and make their third straight Charlotte matchup with the Seahawks the charm, the Panthers could hit the season’s halfway point in relatively good shape.

“We’ve got a lot of guys that understand that whatever was done last week was last week. We’re kind of shedding old skin and coming into new life,” Newton said. “We can look at it and say, ‘Yeah, we got killed this past week,’ but the optimism of it all is we’re still No. 1. We still have another chance to prove ourselves, not just as players, but as a team.”

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