Opening Line: Seahawks by 5½.

Record vs. Spread: Panthers 10-7-1; Seahawks 10-6-1.

Series Record: Tied 1-1.

Last Meeting: Seahawks 23, Panthers 17, Oct. 31, 2004 at Seattle.

Last Week: Panthers beat Bears 29-21. Seahawks beat Redskins 20-10.

Panthers Offense: Overall (22), Rush (19), Pass: (17)

Panthers Defense Overall: (3), Rush (4), Pass (9)

Seahawks Offense: Overall (2), Rush (3), Pass (13)

Seahawks Defense: Overall (16T), Rush (5), Pass (25)

Key Matchup: Carolina RB Nick Goings vs. Seattle's run defense. Carolina's No. 1 back, with DeShaun Foster and Stephen Davis sidelined, is familiar with the job. When the Panthers were hit hard by injuries to their running backs last season, Goings went from sixth-stringer to starter and finished the year with five 100-yard rushing games. Carolina needs to establish the run to keep the Seahawks from stacking their defense against All-Pro wide receiver Steve Smith. Seattle, which ranked fifth (94.4 yards per game) against the run, held Clinton Portis to 41 yards and the Redskins to 59 total yards rushing last week.

Streaks, Stats and Notes:Carolina looks to become the first team to win five straight road playoff games. ... Carolina is 8-2 away from home this season. ... John Kasay has connected on 21 of 23 FGs in the playoffs. ... Carolina coach John Fox is 5-1 lifetime in the playoffs. ... Smith's 218 yards receiving last week ranks fourth all-time in the playoffs. Smith set franchise records with an NFL-best 1,563 yards and 103 receptions, tied for most in the league. Smith also finished tied for the NFL lead with 12 TDs. ... Carolina becomes the third No. 5 seed since 1990 to advance to the championship game. ... In six career playoff games, QB Jake Delhomme has 108.4 passer rating, 10 TDs vs. two INTs and 1,446 yards passing. Delhomme passed for 3,421 yards and tied for the NFC lead with 24 TD passes. ... Panthers have a plus-16 turnover differential. ... WR Ricky Proehl averaged a career-best 17.6 yards per catch in regular season (25-441) and averages 16.6 yards per catch (19-316) in 12 career playoff games. ... DE Julius Peppers posted the third 10-sack (10½) season of his four-year career. ... Carolina's defense ranked third, allowing a 41.0 red zone TD percentage (16 TDs, 39 trips) in regular season. ... Seattle is 23-4 at Qwest Field since the end of the 2002 season, including 9-0 this season. Seattle and Denver are tied for the longest current home winning streak, 11 straight. ... Mike Holmgren is looking to become the fifth coach in NFL history to lead two teams to the Super Bowl. ... RB Shaun Alexander set NFL single-season record with 28 TDs and led league with 1,880 yards rushing, ninth-highest total in NFL history. ... Seahawks have a plus-10 turnover differential. ... Seattle finished second in the NFL with 369.7 yards per game on offense. ... QB Matt Hasselbeck has won 21 of past 25 home starts, with 64.6 completion rate (498 of 771), 40 TDs, 16 INTs and 96.3 passer rating in that span. ... WR Joe Jurevicius had career-best 10 TD catches. Jurevicius averages 21.2 yards per catch (10-212) in five career playoff games, with two TDs. ... Jerramy Stevens set club record for TEs with 554 yards receiving (45 catches). ... WR Darrell Jackson had nine receptions (143 yards, TD) vs. Washington, becoming club all-time leader with 26 postseason catches. He has averaged 109.7 yards receiving per game in three career playoff games. ... Rocky Bernard ranked second among NFL DTs with 8 ½ sacks. ... LB LeRoy Hill ranked third among NFL rookies with 7½ sacks.