My main concern about this game is that it is a bigger deal for them then it is for us.
1) It will be tempting for the Seahawks to look past Carolina a little bit. I'm sure Carroll will do his best to get the team focused only on Panthers, but at the same time you have to think that the Hawks have been game planning around the 49er home opener a lot more than most teams prepare for their second opponent. That isn't a criticism either as that 49er game will effectively count double. We also made the playoffs last season with a paltry 3-5 road record and so while the fans would flip out over a loss, the players would not.
2) In contrast to this, Carolina has been looking squarely at Seattle for months. Their second game is against the Bills, they do not play a single divisional game until week seven, Ron Rivera is a defensive head coach who faced heavy criticism over the usage of the read option early last season, and Shula needs his offense to be successful early to build some confidence in the system. Their only other home game in the first five games is against the Giants, so they know that remaining competitive in the division will require taking care of business against good opponents.
3) Whether it is still reality or not, there remains the perception that the Seahawks are a vulnerable team on the road, especially in 10 am games. As such, I really think Carolina is going to show up for this one regardless of what the power rankings may say.