Enemy Reaction 2025: How Panthers fans reacted to the loss to the Seahawks!

The Seattle Seahawks once again shook off a slow start on offense and rode a second half surge to a comfortable win. They were tied 3-3 with the Carolina Panthers on a gloomy, foggy afternoon in Charlotte, but the 27-10 final score made the first half seem like a distant memory.

It’s time for Enemy Reaction for the Panthers, which we haven’t done in six years. Game thread comments are courtesy of Cat Scratch Reader, and having written this sentence before doing the screenshots, I’m curious to see how harsh they were on Bryce Young and the offense as a whole for this performance knowing they could’ve won the NFC South on Sunday.

Zach Charbonnet converts 3rd and 15, leading to field goal (3-0 SEA)

Panther strip sack Sam Darnold, recover fumble that leads to field goal (3-3)

Mike Jackson haunts the Seahawks with an interception (3-3)

DeMarcus Lawrence gets the ball right back! (3-3)

Zach Charbonnet scores Seattle’s first touchdown! (10-3 SEA)

Julian Love picks off Bryce Young! (10-3 SEA)

Sam Darnold finds A.J. Barner for another touchdown! (17-3 SEA)

Bryce Young gets the Panthers back in it (17-10 SEA)

Jaycee Horn face masks Jaxon Smith-Njigba on 3rd and 21, leading to Seattle field goal (20-10 SEA)

Bryce Young sacked twice, throws a checkdown on 4th and 17 for turnover on downs (20-10 SEA)

Bryce Young kneels in victory formation in 17-point loss (27-10 SEA FINAL)

Post-game: The Panthers were doomed before kickoff (Dean Jones, Cat Crave)

The Panthers’ offense was overwhelmed by Seattle’s formidable defense from start to finish. Bryce Young never had a chance to get into any rhythm, and the turnovers from the signal-caller and running back Chuba Hubbard proved costly. Carolina’s defense did what it could, but it was left rueing critical errors and lapses in concentration in key moments.

Macdonald was always two steps ahead of Canales. The coach can do nothing about his players’ execution — or lack thereof — but there weren’t many schematic adjustments throughout the clash when things clearly weren’t clicking. Everything was a little too conservative, and Seattle could see what was coming from a mile away.

The result was a foregone conclusion by the third quarter, in all honesty. Canales carries the can, but he’ll no doubt be frustrated by some of his key men not turning up in their typical manner. Whether that would have changed much versus an NFL powerhouse is highly doubtful, so the primary objective now is to shake off this terrible outing before their winner-take-all clash at the Buccaneers in Week 18.

Post-game: It’s not all on Bryce Young (Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer)

Young had only 54 yards passing — a career low for games the third-year QB has started. The last time he threw for a number like that in a start was Week 2 in 2024, when he had 84 yards and promptly got benched. But a lot of this wasn’t Young’s fault.

Who was he going to throw it to? Not a single Panthers receiver on the field could beat Seattle’s primarily man-to-man coverage. The blocking was poor, too. Carolina’s only touchdown came on an improvised Young scramble.

The Panthers’ wideouts barely showed up. Rookie Tetairoa McMillan, gutting it out through an illness, had only one catch for five yards and hurt his Offensive Rookie of the Year candidacy. Jalen Coker had two catches for 16 yards. In all, Carolina’s three top receivers combined for four catches for 24 yards. Xavier Legette’s most notable moment? Lining up offsides on a critical fourth-down play.

[…]

In their past 10 games, the Panthers have gone 5-5, and the way they’ve done that has been metronomically impressive: Win-loss-win-loss-win-loss-win-loss-win-loss.

That would seem to mean one more win this weekend, right?

And if not, the Panthers don’t deserve to be in the playoffs anyway.

Post-Game video: Panthers waste a chance to win NFC South (Panthers Post)

Enemy Preaction: San Francisco 49ers

It’s come down to this. For the second year in a row, Sam Darnold needs a road win on the final day to secure the division title and No. 1 seed. It was a disaster for Darnold and the Minnesota Vikings last season, and the hope is that history won’t repeat itself on a new team this season. The Seahawks more or less vanquished the Rams from division contention with their historic comeback in Week 16, avenging their only road loss of the season. Now is the chance to avenge their first loss on the year in a matchup that should look very different than Week 1.

What better way to announce a return to NFC West supremacy than to knock off both of your biggest rivals after they bullied you relentlessly for several seasons?

Thanks for reading and go ‘Hawks!