The Seattle Seahawks aren't going to look past the Carolina Panthers and their 7-8-1 regular-season record, especially after they dispatched of Seattle's NFC West rival, the Arizona Cardinals, handily in the NFC Wild Card round.
"It's going to be a dogfight," linebacker KJ Wright said, via KomoNews.com. "Both teams want to win. This is the game that goes to the NFC Championship. It's going to come down to the team that tackles the best and plays better defense. We're going to see who the best is come Saturday."
The Panthers have won five straight overall, prompting Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll to draw a parallel to Seattle's current hot streak.
"They've done a similar turnaround that we did," Carroll said. "We know there is a lot of value in that, and motivation that comes from playing and performing like that."
The Seahawks opened the campaign 3-3 before winning nine of ten to capture the NFC West title and homefield advantage throughout the NFC Playoffs. Yet, regardless of having homefield to their advantage, the Seahawks still see the Panthers as a major roadblock to their chances of repeating as Super Bowl champs.
"They're in the playoffs for a reason," Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson said."They're a great, talented football team. They've battled to find their way here. It's one of those games that's going to be battle-tested, for sure."
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