The Seattle Seahawks defense has had their ups and downs this season. After struggling at the beginning of the year, Seattle found their stride shortly after acquiring safety Quandre Diggs.

The emergence of Jadeveon Clowney, improved performances from Ziggy Ansah and Shaquem Griffin off the edge, and dominance from the secondary helped Seattle finally break through as a bonafide top-ten, maybe even top-five, defense in the league.

That all fell apart last Sunday against the Rams. With Mychal Kendricks and Ansah both out, and Clowney playing hurt, the team was gashed by Jared Goff and Todd Gurley all night long.

Now, Seattle heads into Week 15 without Kendricks and Clowney, and potentially without Shaquill Griffin and Ansah, who are both listed as questionable.

Not only is that a scary thought, but they have the unenviable task of taking on a Panthers squad that boasts perhaps the most lethal non-quarterback in the league on the offensive side of the ball, Christian McCaffrey.

McCaffrey is an elite ball-carrier and pass-catcher, making him a difficult player to game plan against even with Kyle Allen, and not Cam Newton, under center.

“To see him perform at such a high level so consistently, he’s good at everything,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said on Wednesday. “He’s the best combo guy there is. 86 catches he’s got right now. That’s third or fourth in the league right or whatever it is, as well as 1,200 yards. It’s crazy numbers. He brings it. He runs tough and he’s good in the open field. He makes the catches and runs the routes. He’s an incredible player. The answer is yes, it’s built around him. It should be. They figured that out. It wasn’t hard to figure that out. He’s been incredible in his first couple years in the league.”

The Seahawks have been hurt by pass-catching running backs this season, namely Alvin Kamara of the Saints (nine receptions, 92 yards and a touchdown) and Devonta Freeman of the Falcons (eight receptions, 63 yards).

However, what makes this even more daunting is the absence of Kendricks. Seattle’s reliance on their 4-3 base defense often leaves their linebackers in charge of covering running backs on routes out of the backfield.

If they stick with that game plan on Sunday, rookie Cody Barton may end up in coverage on McCaffrey – which is a potentially dangerous combination for the Seahawks.

Perhaps they’ll rely more on their nickel coverage, which would allow Akeem King to cover McCaffrey instead, but so far this season this team has primarily stayed with the 4-3 configuration, even with Kendricks on the shelf.

There’s little doubt that McCaffrey will have a strong game on Sunday, but just how well he performs will have a big impact on the final score, and whether or not the Seahawks finally clinch that playoff spot in the NFC.

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