The Seattle Seahawks sent the Carolina Panthers back home on Sunday to fight another day. Thanks to the team’s usage of its 1-2 backfield punch of Walker and Charbonnet, they also sent many fantasy managers, well, just home.

Walker and Charbonnet—er, Charbonnet and Walker have done this dance for Seattle (regardless of coaching staff) so many times that managers of fantasy football squads probably should have seen it coming. The script played out true to form; Managers who started “KW9” all season watched as he labored to just 51 yards on the ground, while the team kept putting the biscuit in the basket of Charbonnet, who rumbled to 110 yards (6.1 YPC) with a pair of trips into the promised land for six. Each back caught two passes in the affair.

When the smoke cleared, the potential No. 1 seed Seahawks (@SF 1/3) had flipped a 3-3 halftime score into a runaway 27-10 victory over the home Panthers. Carolina will also play on the road next Saturday, against Tampa Bay, with the division and playoffs on the line.

The Seahawks’ defense proved formidable again. They held Bryce Young and Co. to just 139 total yards, with Charbonnet alone out-rushing the whole of Carolina’s backfield. Also lost in the shuffle was Offensive Rookie of the Year incumbent Tetairoa McMillan, who managed just a single catch for five yards on four targets. On the other side, Sam Darnold finished a pedestrian 18-27 for 149 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Runaway Offensive Player of the Year candidate Jaxon Smith-Njigba had nine catches—none in the painted area.

While many fantasy football managers are left with regrets and “what ifs,” football purists will tell you that “defense wins championships.”

Author: Samwise (@BuyAndSellYou)