Seahawks superhero Kam Chancellor helps put Panthers away

Kam > Cam.

That became evident with 6 minutes left in the fourth quarter when the Panthers stood 13 yards away from cutting Seattle’s 14-point lead in half. That’s when Kam Chancellor jumped in front of the Panthers’ tight end to pick off Cam Newton and ran the ball back 90 yards for the game-clinching pick-six that just so happened to be the longest touchdown in Seahawks playoff history.

“He’s a freaking monster,” cornerback Richard Sherman said of Chancellor. “And I think everybody’s getting surprised each time he makes a huge play like he hasn’t done it before.”

He did it again on Saturday night against Carolina. Repeatedly, in fact. From the first half when he was singularly intent upon turning any Panthers screen pass into a divot in the CenturyLink Field turf to the fourth quarter when he slammed the door shut on any thoughts of a Carolina rally.

For one quarter, the Panthers looked like a threat. They held the ball for more than 12 minutes in the second quarter, ran 24 plays to the Seahawks’ five and scored 10 points. It was a quarter that was reminiscent of the second period of the Seahawks’ two early-season losses, first in San Diego and then at home to Dallas. After Seattle scored the first 17 straight points of the second half against Carolina, that second quarter became an afterthought.

That’s par for the course with this defense, though, which has been ridiculously stingy for the past two months but almost impenetrable after halftime.

And Chancellor is the baddest man on the best defense in the NFL. The kind of guy who’s faster than is reasonable for a man his size, powerful enough to loosen fillings with a hit and able to leap offensive linemen in a single bound. Oh yeah, he did that twice against a team whose quarterback likes to call himself Superman.

Not on Saturday night, though. Not after Chancellor racked up 10 tackles in addition to picking off Newton’s fourth-quarter pass and running it the other way.

“I liked the look on Cam Newton’s face as he ran,” defensive lineman Michael Bennett said. “Kam taking Cam.”

OK, Michael. What did Cam look like?

“Like a child that lost his puppy,” Bennett said.

Chancellor has a way of doing that. On a defense full of hammers, Chancellor is the one who can change your life.

“He damages people’s souls,” Sherman said.

He also changes games, and as odd as it seems, Chancellor may still be underrated even after five seasons, three Pro Bowl selections and one big-budget contract extension.

Sherman and free safety Earl Thomas get mentioned among the best players at their respective positions, but Chancellor isn’t included in those conversations. He often gets called the enforcer, but he’s much more than that. With his speed, his size, the way he hits opponents, he might be the player who best embodies the way coach Pete Carroll wants his defense to play.

In last season’s Super Bowl, there was a compelling case that he was the game’s MVP, the way his first-quarter hit on receiver Demaryius Thomas set the tone for not only what was to come from Chancellor, but from Seattle’s defense.

“We feed off Kam,” linebacker Bruce Irvin said.

Everything from his hits to the celebration when he smashes his fist into his hand to the way he leaped cleanly over Carolina’s line on back-to-back field-goal attempts at the end of the first half. The first was nullified by a false-start penalty. The second time, he forced a missed attempt only to have officials penalize him for running into the Panthers’ kicker despite the fact replays certainly appeared to show him touching the ball, which would have made contact allowable.

Afterward, Chancellor was asked if he might be more worthy than Newton of the Superman nickname.

“He can have the Superman,” Chancellor said. “Call me Batman. The Dark Knight.”