Here's what we learned from Seahawks' 37-27 win over the Panthers

SEATTLE — The Seattle Seahawks' first home victory is on the board.

After a frustrating first half, the Seahawks overpowered the Carolina Panthers 37-27 at Lumen Field on Sunday afternoon. 

Here are four takeaways from the Seahawks' win.

Young Seahawks running backs thrive

When the Seahawks used a second-round pick on Zach Charbonnet in the 2023 NFL Draft, it confused many around the league.

After all, Seattle just succeeded with Kenneth Walker, another second-round pick. Why devote more draft capital to a position they already had filled?

This week's win was the Seahawks' vision coming to life: Walker and Charbonnet spliced the Panthers defense, averaging over five yards per carry in the win. The duo combined for 201 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns.

It was pretty fun too.

Don't forget this bruising Charbonnet run that effectively put the game out of reach.

Another injury in the secondary

The Seahawks were already feeling thin in the secondary heading into Sunday's game.

Corners Riq Woolen and Coby Bryant were inactive prior to kickoff. So was safety Jamal Adams.

One of the few remaining healthy players in the secondary, Tre Brown, was ruled out for the game with a concussion in the second quarter.

That left 2023 first-round pick Devon Witherspoon and third-stringer Michael Jackson as the team's top two corners. They only had two backups, leaving the Seahawks in a difficult position.

Thankfully, the Panthers' inert passing offense isn't one to take advantage of positive matchups, so the Seahawks were able to survive with most of the unit injured.

But it won't be that way every week. The Seahawks injury report will be a vital source to monitor heading into their next game against the New York Giants. (Though the Giants are another offense that doesn't beat teams in the air.)

Third down struggles

We have to mention that pesky third down, which prevented the Seahawks from breaking this game wide-open in the first half. 

Yes, the Seahawks were efficient and moved the ball down the field with regularity but the teams' inability to convert on third down led to Jason Myers tying the franchise record with five field goals.

In the first half, the Seahawks were just 1-of-8 on third down. The offense didn't make it easy on themselves either, facing an average third down of over nine yards in the first half. 

Seattle's offense took off in the second half because they avoided third down and moved the chains on early downs instead. To take a page out of Peyton Manning's playbook, the best third-down offense is never needing third down in the first place.

The Seahawks faced just four third downs in the second half but converted two. That's all they needed to score 25 points in the second half.

Not this time, Andy

Last year, Andy Dalton led the Saints to a 39-32 victory over the Seahawks in Week 5.

It wasn't particularly because of Dalton's play, though he was efficient in the win. New Orleans simply gashed the Seahawks defense in the running game, with Alvin Kamara and Taysom Hill combining for over 200 yards and three touchdowns.

In this year's matchup, Dalton was mostly efficient but he does not have the same infrastructure around him in Carolina. There is no Kamara or Hill or Chris Olave to take the pressure off.

The Panthers supporting cast exposes the limited, but capable, Dalton and the Seahawks didn't let him off the hook this time around.