3. The offensive line is showing its depth.
The Seahawks were without both starting tackles in Week 2, then on Sunday they were also missing starting right guard Phil Haynes. And if that wasn’t enough, left guard Damien Lewis came out of the game with a wrist injury. Lewis was able to return, but for part of the first half, center Evan Brown was the only Week 1 starting lineman on the field.
Yet despite all of those injuries, the Seahawks still had another big game offensively, putting up 37 points and scoring on eight possessions while punting only twice.
“They were really poised and composed about handling the situation, nobody lost their minds and got crazy or nervous or out of whack and all,” Carroll said. “They were just really chill about the way they handled it. They played against really good players, marquee rushers and handled those guys. (Carolina) threw a lot of stuff at them, scheme wise, and they adjusted well, communicated really well. In essence, what they did that was probably the most remarkable is that they played with a lot of confidence. You’ve got to give a lot of credit to (offensive line coach Andy Dickerson) and (assistant offensive line coach Keli’I Kekuewa) for what they’ve done with those guys to get them to this point. That was a really big accomplishment, and it just gives us such confidence in our depth.”