NFL Football
2025-12-28 - Seattle Seahawks at Carolina Panthers
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States : NFL Week 17
Saturday 28th December 2025 - Scheduled 1pm
6pm (British Time)
Preview
The big fightback to beat the Los Angeles Rams in Week 16 of the NFL season has pushed the Seattle Seahawks (12-3) into a position where they can finish with the top Seed in the Conference. They looked down and out in that Thursday Night Football game, but Sam Darnold showed he can win big games and the Overtime win and a mini-Bye puts the Seahawks in confidence mood.
They will not want to slip up in the bid to win the Division, but the Seahawks have to be aware of the dangers that can be posed by the Carolina Panthers (8-7) who have taken the lead in the NFC South.
There is a chance the Panthers can secure the Division at the end of this week- they need to win and hope the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lose at eliminated Miami, otherwise Carolina will be set for a 'winner takes all' game against the Divisional rivals next week.
With that in mind, there may be one eye on the scoreboard to see how Tampa Bay are performing and that could be a factor in this game.
Of course it is not an ideal scheduling spot for the Seattle Seahawks- not only have they beaten the Rams in Week 16, but the Seahawks finish the season against the San Francisco 49ers and overlooking this opponent would be a mistake.
A defeat would open the door for the Rams and/or the 49ers to take the Division and force Seattle to play road games in January and so there should be some real focus attached to this game.
The Seahawks do look like they match up pretty well with this Carolina team, especially on the Defensive side of the ball.
While the Panthers would love to establish the run and keep Bryce Young in third and manageable spots on the field, the Seahawks are a Defensive unit that have been very proud of how they have played the run. There are some holes in the Secondary which can be exploited, as Los Angeles did, but this is not the approach the Carolina Panthers tend to take with the Offensive game plan and Seattle will travel to the Eastern time zone full of belief, especially with the extra rest in place.
There should also be some comfort in the way the Seattle Seahawks want to play this game on the Offensive side of the ball.
Using the Offensive Line to run the ball should be high on the list of priorities and the Seahawks should have considerable success doing that against this Carolina Defensive Line.
Sam Darnold should then have a bit more time to make his reads if the Seahawks are running the ball as they can and he will not have to take too many risks with the ball.
Respect has to be given to the way the Carolina Secondary have been playing and they created a big turnover to beat the Buccaneers last week, but Seattle should be pretty happy with the way this game can be played. Running the ball will make it very difficult for the Carolina Secondary against some of the Receivers that Sam Darnold can target and the NFC West leaders can get the better of the South leaders in this important Week 17 game.
Seattle have won by solid margins when travelling to the Washington Commanders and Atlanta Falcons this season and having that bit more time to prepare for this game can only bode well for them.
Prediction
Lay the points with the road favourite.
The Pick :
Carolina Panthers 17-27 Seattle Seahawks
