The Panthers aren’t NFL’s worst playoff team ever, because this team is

The NFC South has deserved all the jokes this year. It’s not often an 8-9 record can win the division, with the winner being settled between the two eliminated teams in a game that shouldn’t have mattered. Ultimately the Carolina Panthers won the default bowl, and will get to host a playoff game as a result with the 12-5 Rams making the trip from Los Angeles in the Wild Card Round.

It’s certainly fair to ask whether or not this year’s iteration of the Panthers is the worst playoff team of all time, but what if I told you there was a once a team that was even worse? An organization that won its division in the dumbest way possible, went to the postseason with a record even worse than Carolina’s, and even managed to pull off an upset win over one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history?

This is the story of the 2010 Seattle Seahawks, unquestionably the worst playoff team in modern NFL history.

The first step in understanding this team is appreciating what a dumpster fire the NFC West was in 2010. All four teams were trying to rebuild, or coming to the realization that things weren’t working. The St. Louis Rams were desperately hoping Sam Bradford would be heir apparent to the Kurt Warner/Marc Bulger throne, the 49ers were coping with the fact Alex Smith wasn’t the guy, and the Cardinals were in the midst of their Ken Whisenhunt disaster era which led to the team starting and failing with every quarterback under the sun.

The only team with an ounce of intrigue was the Seattle Seahawks. They pulled off a coup in the offseason by convincing Pete Carroll to leave USC and return to the NFL for the first time in a decade. Carroll inherited a deeply flawed roster from Jim Mora Jr. and was tasked with turning everything around. At quarterback he was met with a 35-year-old Matt Hasselbeck who had been breaking down for two years prior. The receiving corps was a mess, as former draft bust Mike Williams was the only established pass catcher on the roster. Defensively there weren’t many standouts aside from pass rushers Chris Clemons and Raheem Brock.

In short: The Seahawks were going to take a lot of work. Carroll knew this, but took the job in part because he was given total control of drafting and personnel decisions on the roster. This is key, because it’s what allowed for Seattle’s ascent. Little did we know, but Carroll’s first draft in Seattle would lay the groundwork for a Super Bowl win, because it led to the Seahawks landing Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor, Russell Okung, and Golden Tate — all of whom would win rings with the team just three years later. Back in 2010 though, they were just promising rookies who didn’t see much play time outside of Thomas and Okung.

Entering the season it became clear Seattle desperately needed help at running back. Without a lot of great options the team took a swing on a former 1st round, sending a 4th and 5th round pick to the Bills for Marshawn Lynch, who had a disappointing, injury-riddled 2009 season and didn’t figure into Buffalo’s future plans. Before you think “So, THAT’S why they made the playoffs,” don’t. Lynch wasn’t spectacular in 2010 either. Behind a dicey offensive line he ran for 573 yards in 12 games, averaging a pedestrian 3.5 yards-per-carry.

The funny thing about those 2010 Seahawks, much like the 2025 Panthers is that their season really didn’t make any sense. One week they would beat a great team like the Bears, who finished the season 11-5, then the next they’d get the barns doors blown off them by the Broncos — who were one of the worst teams in the NFL that season.

This wild vacillation was because of Hasselbeck, who was abysmal in 2010. Sure, he still threw for 3,000 yards, which was the norm — but he had 12 touchdowns and 17 interceptions this season. So many games came down to whether or not Hasselbeck would blow it that the team never became consistent. From Halloween onwards the Seahawks went on a comical streak of winning a game, then losing two, and repeating. They did this until the end of the season, finishing 7-9 which was still good enough in the horrific NFC West to win the division and host a playoff game.

This year the Panthers are hosting the Rams in a playoff game expected to be an absolute stomp. The same was the case in 2010 as well with the Seahawks. They had New Orleans coming to visiting, who were boasting an 11-5 record on the arm of Drew Brees, who threw for 4,600 yards and 33 touchdowns that season. Nobody expected the sub-.500 Seahawks to put up a fight, but then the team went nuclear.

Not only did the best version of Hasselbeck show up, throwing four touchdowns in the game — but Marshawn cemented himself in history with the “Beast Quake” touchdown, a thunderous 67-yard yard that laid waste to the Saints defense and caused fans in Seattle to create seismic activity with their cheering.

The Seahawks went on to upset a team many thought had Super Bowl potential, beating the Saints 41-36 before losing to the Bears in the Divisional Playoffs — but they represent a cautionary tale about writing off bad playoff teams. The 7-9 Seahawks are the worst we’ve ever seen, but still managed to disrupt the plans of a juggernaut. There are more than a few similarities to the 2025 Panthers, who have also been mocked for making the playoffs by default, and given absolutely no chance by pundits.

Oh, one more thing. Those 2010 Seahawks? One person Pete Carroll hired to be a part of his staff was a promising 29-year-old offensive coach who joined him from USC. His name was Dave Canales, who is the head coach of the 2025 Carolina Panthers.