Tom Krasovic: Seahawks inch closer to NFC’s No. 1 seed with win over Panthers

The Seahawks recalled their “Legion of Boom” days Sunday, setting themselves up for a first-round playoff bye if they beat the 49ers in the season finale.

Allowing just 2.7 yards per play in the 27-10 win over the Panthers, the Seahawks did a fair imitation of their famed defense that led a pair of Super Bowl runs.

No one outshone the Seahawks (13-3) in an NFL week that also saw the Browns keep the Ravens’ playoff bid alive, the Raiders take a big step toward the top slot in the next draft and the Jaguars overcome Philip Rivers.

The Seahawks gave up just 40 yards passing and 139 yards overall to overwhelm a Panthers team whose upset four weeks ago of the heavily favored Rams – one of the few clubs that can solve the Seahawks’ defense – looms bigger now.

So dominant was Seattle’s D, the Panthers (8-8) kneeled out their final three snaps rather than take more punishment.

Mike Macdonald had never been a head coach before he took over the Seahawks at age 36 after coordinating Ravens defenses that finished eighth and first in fewest points allowed.

He’s now 23-10 (.696) on the job.

Macdonald said his defenses strive to create the illusion of complexity, boosting his defenders ability to anticipate where the ball is going and deliver hard hits.

The experience can be overwhelming for a QB who’s low on NFL experience.

Sunday, Panthers quarterback Bryce Young, 24, and teammates often looked uncertain.

Led by end DeMarcus Lawrence, safety Julian Love and tackle Leonard Williams, the Seahawks had a tackle for loss by five different players and numerous other key stops. None of Young’s 14 completions went for more than 8 yards.

Beware the Ravens

The Ravens will go to the playoffs if they beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh this Sunday.

Expect the Ravens to make that happen, earning the AFC’s fourth seed.

Though it’s not clear that quarterback Lamar Jackson will return from his back injury to start the AFC North decider, his stand-in, sixth-year player Tyler Huntley, knows the offense well and offers an adequate pass-run dimension.

The Ravens have won both of Huntley’s starts this year – a 30-16 decision over the Bears in October and a 41-24 rout of the Packers on Saturday night in Green Bay.

If the Steelers had beaten the Browns, who won 13-6, they could’ve used the season’s final week to rest several veterans and welcome back No. 1 receiver DK Metcalf for the first-round playoff game.

Instead, against a good Browns D, they sorely missed Metcalf, who was suspended for the season’s final two games due to an altercation with a fan in the previous game.

Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers had almost no success throwing the ball downfield near the sidelines. Rodgers’ three incompletions in the final series to Metcalf’s replacement, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, sealed the defeat.

The Browns have won their past four home games against the Steelers.

Not there yet

The Raiders (2-14) tend to goof up most activities that have anything to do with acquiring a franchise quarterback.

Sunday may prove an exception.

After shutting down two banged-up stars this week and also a safety who’d started every game, they lost 34-10 to the Giants (3-13) in a contest between two teams riding nine-game losing streaks.

For now, the Raiders hold the top draft pick.

Quarterback Fernando Mendoza isn’t one of the great QB prospects of recent years. But Mendoza, who led Indiana to a 13-0 season and the top seed in the college football national playoffs, is a better candidate to become a good NFL starter than many other young QBs the Raiders have acquired in the past few decades.

The Raiders aren’t there yet.

The Chiefs will come to Las Vegas in the season final. K.C. is down to its third QB and has shut down several good players.

Sweet and bitter

In his third NFL start since returning to the league earlier this month, Rivers seemed to enjoy himself Sunday, despite a few rough moments and a 24-17 loss to the Jaguars that dropped the Colts to 0-3 since Rivers, 44, rejoined them after not playing in the NFL for almost five years.

“I’d do it all again,” Rivers said.

Rivers’ football-chess skills paid off in all three games. He matched wits well with Macdonald’s defense, likely sparing Colts rookie QB Riley Leonard a perilous outing.

But the contrast Sunday with Jags QB Trevor Lawrence in arm strength, power and sprint speed was stark.

Lawrence, 26, stretched the Colts’ D with his fastballs.

At 6-foot-51/2 and listed at 220 pounds, Lawrence rushed for two TDs.

Lawrence’s career-best total of nine rushing TDs in 16 games this season is three times Rivers’ career total of three rushing TDs in 247 career games.

All but clinching the win, Lawrence powered a fourth-and-1 sneak off left tackle for 3 yards. Rivers went five-plus consecutive NFL seasons without attempting a sneak, in large part because head coaches Norv Turner and Mike McCoy were against it.