Off-Topic » It was easy and understandable to feel discouraged about the

Seattle Seahawks’ playoff chances when they dropped to 4-5 following a loss to the LA Rams in Week 10 Shaquem Griffin Color Rush Jersey , but much like being down 14-3 early to the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night, it’s usually a bad idea to count out Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson when there’s time left on the clock. The Seahawks seemed to have a whole host of teams ahead of them in the wild card race just a week ago and now the path to a postseason berth — for a short time at least — is clear:Beat the Carolina Panthers in Week 12.After Seattle improved to 5-5 on Thursday, eyes turn to the 6-3 Panthers who were on the road on Sunday against the 3-6 Detroit Lions, a team that the Seahawks beat in Detroit less than a month ago. Carolina tied the score 13-13 in the fourth quarter, then the Lions struck back with a touchdown by Kenny Golladay to go up 20-13. After exchanging punts, the Panthers got the ball back with 2:44 remaining and at their own 25. Cam Newton and Christian McCaffrey hooked up for a 34-yard gain on the first play and then roughly a minute later they scored on an 8-yard touchdown throw to D.J. Moore. With the score at 20-19, Ron Rivera opted to go for two rather than give Detroit the ball back with 1:07 left or go to overtime and the result (Newton missed an open Jarius Wright in the end zone) dropped Carolina to 6-4 on the season.Rivera basically said he didn’t trust his kicker Graham Gano or his defense to get a stop.The Panthers return home to face 5-5 Seattle Bradley McDougald Color Rush Jersey , a team that has an extra three days of rest on them thanks to their Thursday night matchup in Week 11. If the Seahawks get a win, they’ll move ahead of Carolina in the standings and should move them into at least the second wild card spot, if not the first.The 5-3-1 Minnesota Vikings play the 6-3 Chicago Bears on Sunday night. The Bears hold a head-to-head tiebreak advantage over Seattle thanks to their Week 2 win over the Hawks, whereas the Seahawks host the Vikings later this season. It should benefit Seattle to see the Vikings lose this one, solidify the Bears as the winners of the NFC North, and drop Minnesota to 5-4-1 with a chance of dropping to 5-5-1 next week. If the stars aligned, the Seahawks would be in the first wild card spot by the end of Week 12.First Brett Hundley Color Rush Jersey , Seattle needs to win in Carolina.The Seahawks faced the Panthers just four times total from 1995-2009, but this will be the ninth meeting between the two teams since Pete Carroll arrived in 2010. Seattle is 6-2 in those games, including 3-1 on the road and 3-0 in Carolina in the regular season. Rivera/Newton have averaged just 15.7 points per game against Carroll’s defense, with one of those games being the 31-24 playoff victory against the Seahawks in 2015. Even that included a scoreless second half. Seattle has averaged 29.5 points per game against the Panthers in their last four meetings, including a 40-7 victory in 2016. The Seahawks rushed for 240 yards and three touchdowns in that game, a story they’d like to retell next Sunday.If they do, they’ll be back in the lead for a playoff spot with five December games Richard Sherman Color Rush Jersey , including four at home and two against the San Francisco 49ers, left to go. This team really is tough to put away. RENTON, Wash. (AP) — For whatever reason, playing in Arizona has become a drama-filled trip for the Seattle Seahawks.The latest chapter came Sunday when Earl Thomas broke his leg in a 20-17 win.Seattle’s star free safety fractured the tibia in his left leg in a collision with Arizona wide receiver Chad Williams with nine minutes to play. It was nearly an identical injury to the one Thomas sustained in 2016 when he collided with teammate Kam Chancellor in a game against the Carolina Panthers.The stadium in Glendale, Arizona, has turned into a house of horrible memories for the Seahawks, and the Super Bowl loss to New England is just one of the miserable moments for Seattle.Former running back Marshawn Lynch extended a middle finger to the Seahawks sideline in Arizona in 2013 to express his displeasure with offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell’s play-calling. There was the unsightly 6-6 tie during the 2016 season. And there was Malcolm Butler’s interception of Russell Wilson at the goal line to deny Seattle a second-straight Lombardi Trophy.In addition to Thomas’ injury Duane Brown Color Rush Jersey , Chancellor and Richard Sherman each saw his tenure with the Seahawks end because of injuries sustained in a game in Arizona last November. Chancellor sustained a neck injury that has kept him from continuing his career while Sherman tore his Achilles tendon and was released this offseason.Now there is the image of Thomas leaving the field on a cart with a middle finger extended toward his sideline in what could end up being his final game with the Seahawks.The Legion of Boom all went bust in the desert.“I don’t know where to put that,” coach Pete Carroll said. “It’s kind of uncanny that it’s happened like that.”The loss of Thomas throws second-year safety Tedric Thompson into the spotlight. Thompson was the starter through most of the preseason when Thomas was holding out and has seen plenty of playing time in the first month as Seattle has used a mix of defenses featuring three safeties.“We’re excited about Tedric’s play and he’s been playing quite a bit in the dime group that we’ve been playing, so he’s been on the field a lot, so it’s nothing new for him to get out there,” Carroll said.But Thompson isn’t Thomas — at least not yet — and his likely first start is set to come against the most potent offense in the NFL when the Los Angeles Rams visit on Sunday.“I don’t see it replacing Earl Thomas,” Carroll said. “He’s a great football player and has demonstrated that for a long period of time and had probably — what we both acknowledged — his best start of any season he could recall. It’s next guy up. This is not Earl coming back. This is Tedric playing the game. He is going the best he can in the way he plays.”