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[accordion_item title=”Panthers Coach Ron Rivera”](What was the difference in today’s game)

“Unfortunately turnovers and missed opportunities in terms of chances on a couple of plays. We had a blitz on the first touchdown they scored. Tre (Boston) was in pretty good position, he lost sight of the ball and they made a nice play. Bene (Benwikere) the same thing, we were in good position, he lost sight of the ball and they made a big play, give them credit for the play. They had a couple of nice throws and a couple of nice catches. The turnovers were not at the right time unfortunately and they took advantage of it.”

(What happened on the fumbled handoff)

“Cam read it, saw that it was going to be a negative play, and he tried to pull it. He’s reading to see what’s going to happen. He tried to make a play.”

(Does the left tackle have to block down on that one)

“No, for the most part were trying to read off of that. He saw that he was going to pull it out and try and get around him and try and pick up as many yards as he could.”

(Did you need for Cam and everyone to play better)

“Well certainly, we needed them (Seattle) to make some mistakes and that would help. But it didn’t happen, again credit to them. They did some really good things. We made some mistakes. We missed some opportunities. They did some things that lead to winning championships. They scored on defense. They took the ball away. You have to give them credit; they’re a good football team.”

(What are your emotions right now)

“Well, I’m disappointed for our team. First of all, I would like to see us play better. We had opportunities, again credit to them. Again I am disappointed for them, they came so far. They really have, they fought, they went through an awful lot. They endured an awful lot. They kept their heads up. They played together, they came together, and they deserved to be here. Again I know a lot of people don’t agree with me, but that’s too bad. That’s the way it is. I’m proud of these guys. I’m proud of who they are as young men. They fought. They didn’t quit.”

(How do you think you will look back on the 2014 season)

“With a little humor and a little pride. You can’t make this stuff up that happened to us. There is a lot of irony to the things that happened. But the one thing that I’m proud of is that these guys never quit. They showed up, they wanted to work. They stayed late, they stayed after practice, late after meetings, they watched film. They came together. They did the things that you needed to do when the situation was right to win. We had to win, and we did. We had to win out to get in the playoffs, and we did. We had to win our first round, and we did. I would have liked to have played better today. But I’m not going to take anything away from Seattle, they are a heck of a football team.”

[accordion_item title=”Panthers QB Cam Newton”](On his current emotions)

“I don’t know how I feel. Of course, I am frustrated, but I have been on this mood before, and I need not speak on it. And yet, I feel overwhelmed with emotion. I feel like since Day 1, as a team, nobody gave us anything. But having a performance like today makes you want to go back and play it right now. We wish we could play these guys over again.”

(On the mentality coming in)

“We didn’t think coming out here that were going to lose. I don’t put on my helmet just to bow down to somebody and say ‘You guys got it.’ We play with a chip in our shoulder. Coming into this game, you saw a team that wasn’t afraid of the hostile environment. It wasn’t afraid of the defense it was going against. We just stepped up to the challenge, and yet we’ve got be more thorough throughout the game.”

(On the positive future of this team)

“When you look at how many players made an impact [that have been in the league] for two years (or less), it kind of tells you that sky is the limit. Yet, it’s the NFL, and teams change every day. This offseason is something in which we need to grow as a whole unit.”

[accordion_item title=”Panthers RB Mike Tolbert”](On mistakes being a difference maker)

“Don’t take anything from them; they are a great football team. We played with them, and we played damn well against them. There are a lot of things we could have done, and that’s the reason they won.”

[accordion_item title=”Panthers WR Kelvin Benjamin”](On his rookie year)

“I feel like I had a bad season. I have to do a better job staying healthy throughout the season. I think I slowed down. I have to do a better job, take care of my body. I had a lot of drops. I think I’m going to do a better job, just taking care of my body and staying focused.”

[accordion_item title=”Panthers TE Greg Olsen”](On if he feels a sense of satisfaction being in the playoffs after being 3-8-1)

“I don’t have it right now. This isn’t the time to start reflecting on the season as a whole. We are really disappointed. We felt like we really had a good opportunity. We were in a good position there. We just made a couple of critical errors, and that blew the game wide open for us. It’s just disappointing to do that to yourself. Give credit to them. They’re a really good team. They’re defending Super Bowl champs for a reason. But we felt we left a few things out there.”

(On what he takes out of this season)

“We’ll reflect on that in a couple of days. Obviously right now we’re very disappointed. It’s hard to have a lot of moral victories. It’s a crappy way to end the season two years now in a row in the divisional round. We have to find a way to get over the hump.”

[accordion_item title=”Panthers C Ryan Kalil”](On the loss)

“It’s hard to win when you don’t win the turnover battle, and that’s what happened. I thought we had a good game plan. I thought we played them tough against a good, physical defense. We had a lot of answers for them. I just think at the end of the day, we couldn’t get it our way.”

(On going through adversity)

“A lot of teams go through a lot of different things, and I think what we’ve gone through this season says a lot about the character of this team and says a lot about our future, too. We have a lot of young guys, a lot of new faces here. In that regard, I feel very good about the future, especially from an offensive line standpoint. It’s a learning opportunity, and we will apply that to next season.”

[accordion_item title=”Panthers LB Luke Kuechly”](On not being able to cause a turnover deep in Seattle territory)

“The game’s based on turnovers. They forced a couple. They scored on defense. We had the ball on the ground a couple of times. A couple plays, maybe a missed snap that Russell jumped on it. We forced a fumble and Marshawn was able to jump on it. At the end of the day, it’s who gets off the field on third down and makes more plays and forces turnovers, and we weren’t able to do that today.”

[accordion_item title=”Panthers S Tre Boston”](On Russell Wilson’s effectiveness on third-down passes)

“You have to give credit where credit is due. Eight-for-eight is amazing. But I don’t know if what he was doing was different from any other down.”

[accordion_item title=”Panthers S Roman Harper”](On where it went wrong)

“We didn’t win the turnover battle. You know how it important that has been for our team throughout this winning streak, and we didn’t do our job and we didn’t tackle. They just made big plays. It wasn’t like they drove. It was just big plays that came back to bite us defensively.”

[accordion_item title=”Panthers Defensive Coordinator Sean McDermott”](Difference in the game)

“We didn’t do a good enough job on third downs. Quarterback made some great throws, so give him credit and the receivers credit. All in all, the guys played hard. And then, we have to get takeaways. I think they had two, we didn’t have any. That’s fundamental football. You win a takeaway battle; you give yourself a good chance to win. We didn’t get enough takeaways on defense.”

(On Russell Wilson)

“We played man; we played zone. He made plays. Give him credit. He’s the Super Bowl champion for a reason. That’s what we’re trying to get to, and we’ve got a lot of guys on this team who are going to learn from this experience. I’m sure the coaches will all learn. We could have all done a better job. I’ll start with myself and move forward. This is what the playoffs are all about. The margin for error is very slim – very slim. Particularly when you’re at somebody else’s house – defending World Champions – and we’ve got to learn from this. I thought the guys came out, and they played hard. We didn’t make enough plays. Really, that’s the name of the game. The third downs and the takeaways.”

[accordion_item title=”Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll”](On SS Kam Chancellor and QB Russell Wilson)

“I don’t know that a strong safety can have a better game than Kam had tonight. He was all over the place, he had, I heard 11 tackles and a pick for a touchdown. But, all the big hits that he made, and all the things that he did tonight. It was just an amazing football game he was able to get done tonight. I was really fired up for Russell. He had a great night on third downs tonight. I don’t know what he was, but he must have hit almost everything. I think he had three third-down touchdown passes, which is just unheard of. How does that even happen? He did a great job. “

(On whether Carolina ran some misdirection plays)

“Yes, they did. I don’t mind saying it, because the teams that are coming from this point forward can’t run the ball like Cam can. That’s a very difficult offense. The threat that he poses allows them to do some other stuff. It’s the Panther offense, but it’s structured so much about Cam’s capabilities. They were able tonight to take advantage of the fact that we had loaded up against the running game and throw the ball outside some and they had some success out there. It’s not going to be the same the next couple times out. Still, they did a great job tonight. It was very difficult. “

[accordion_item title=”Seahawks QB Russell Wilson”](On whether he was surprised with Carolina’s defense stacking to stop the run, even with an empty backfield)

“It didn’t surprise us. They showed a lot of different looks when we went Empty and we just tried to prepare for that and make sure that we got protected and got the ball out and got the ball out on time. Doug Baldwin had that first touchdown catch which kind of got us going there, and that was an awesome play. They brought Cover-Zero, and he goes up and gets it. Those are things that we can do offensively.”

(On the touchdown pass to Baldwin, why did he change the call)

“They actually brought Cover-Zero against us the last time we played them in Carolina, and they got me on it. I wanted make sure I was prepared for that, and sure enough they showed it and we capitalized on it.”

[accordion_item title=”Seahawks WR Doug Baldwin”](On how the touchdown play was designed)

“Well if you take a look at it, it’s actually very similar to the touchdown that we had in the Eagles game. Won’t give it away, but it’s very similar. We got the same protection, the same look, if you watch me you see me point to the guy knowing that he’s about to blitz. Russ [Wilson] saw it before I did and threw a beautiful ball and gave me a chance to go up and get it.”

[accordion_item title=”Seahawks TE Luke Willson”](On how good Russell Wilson was today)

“Unbelievable. There were a couple of plays, obviously throwing the ball, everyone saw that, but I always enjoy his scrambles, that are just unbelievable. He does that every week. He makes great defenses look like peewee football. Those are big plays. You call a play, and it’s not really working, and he is able to continually make plays, and it’s pretty awesome.”

(On why he does well against Carolina)

“I don’t know. Not really sure. The way things are going right now, I’d like to keep playing them.”

[accordion_item title=”Seahawks SS Kam Chancellor”](On his interception)

“It’s a credit to the defensive linemen–the defensive line did a great job on that interception play. I look back and I see Cam [Newton] just under pressure and looked as if he was going to get tackled and he threw the ball right to me. I read the play, I saw the defensive line get pressure on Cam, credit goes to them, and I just finished the play.”

(On Kam being the real Superman)

“You know what–they call me Batman so he can have the Superman. I’m the dark knight.”

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