With each passing game, it looks like the Panthers — who at 4-7 sit three games out of first place in the NFC South — will not make a return trip to the Super Bowl this season. In all likelihood, the defending NFC champs won't even make the playoffs this year — but don't expect Richard Sherman to feel bad for them.
After quarterback Cam Newton and the Panthers defeated Sherman's Seahawks in the divisional round last season, Newton celebrated by running around Bank of America Stadium smiling and high-fiving fans. Sherman said Newton crossed a line when he grabbed a 12th man flag from a Seahawks fan, crumpled it and threw it in the air.
MORE: Seahawks getting healthier, heartier
"I guess karma gets you," Sherman said Wednesday. "It doesn't look like you're going to be in the playoffs this year."
The Seahawks cornerback has another chance to deliver karma to Newton when Seattle hosts Carolina in Sunday's rematch.
Unlike the Panthers, Seattle sits comfortably in first place in the NFC West and is expected to the make the playoffs for a fifth straight season.