RENTON, Wash. — Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll knows the best way to show that his team is past the chaos of last week is to beat the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

As the team prepares for its third trip in three years to Carolina, Carroll insists that the Percy Harvin trade is now in the past, leaving no mess behind that still has to be cleaned up.

“We already have made that move,” Carroll said “We’re moving on.”

Maybe.

Many will wonder, though, until the Seahawks again look like themselves, something they have not done the past two weeks in falling to 3-3 with losses to the Dallas Cowboys and the St. Louis Rams.

Carroll points out Seattle could have won both games with just the change of a play here or a play there.

“The margin of where we are vs. where we could be is so slight that the hope is very strong,” Carroll said.

In fact, Seattle had one of its best statistical showings of the season in the loss at St. Louis, outgaining the Rams 463-267, losing largely thanks to three big special teams play by the home team.

Some wanted to read a Harvin Hangover into the defeat, but Carroll pointed to the way Seattle played much of the game — including 303 yards of offense in the second half — as proof that the loss was simply the result of the ball bouncing the wrong way a time or two.

“To see the big improvement on the offense was really encouraging and exciting,” Carroll said.

That, in fact, has been a theme all week, that the Harvin-less offense looked like its old self again, based more on the running of Marshawn Lynch and the running and passing of Russell Wilson.

Expect that transition to continue at Carolina against a Panthers team unexpectedly struggling on defense, ranked 27th in total defense, allowing 388 yards per game.

Carolina ranked second in the NFL in defense last year behind only Seattle, and when the schedules were released in the spring, this figured to be another matchup of two of the best defenses in the NFL.

Instead, it is a matchup of two teams uncharacteristically struggling. Seattle is ranked eighth in total defense at 324 per game and is giving up 23.5 points per game, 19th in the NFL.

Seattle’s big edge comes on the ground, as the Seahawks’ offense is second in the NFL in rushing at 153.3 per game while the Panthers are 27th at 89.9.

Much of the Seahawks’ ground yardage of late has come from Wilson, who rushed for 100 or more yards in two of the past three games.

Wilson also threw for 313 yards against the Rams, becoming the first quarterback in NFL history to run for 100 and throw for 300 in the same game.

Defensively, Seattle will have to stop the dual-threat of Carolina quarterback Cam Newton. The Seahawks got that done the last two years in wins at Carolina, holding the Panthers to a combined 20 points. However, middle linebacker Bobby Wagner, a key part of the effort to contain Newton in those games, will be out with a foot injury.

“Whenever you’re playing Cam Newton, you have your hands full,” Carroll said. “He’s done a ton of stuff the last few weeks. He’s run the ball a lot more than he had, which just adds to the problem of stopping these guys.”

It adds up to a key battle in a really key game for the Seahawks, who are already two games behind the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC West.

After Sunday, Seattle returns home for two games in which it will be a big favorite — against the Oakland Raiders and New York Giants. So the Seahawks know that with a win Sunday they can get well in a hurry. If not, well …

NOTES: C Max Unger, who strained his foot against Washington and missed the past two games, is unlikely to play Sunday. He again will be replaced by Stephen Schilling. … MLB Bobby Wagner, who sustained a turf toe injury against Dallas, remains out and will again be replaced by K.J. Wright. … CB Byron Maxwell, who strained a calf against Dallas and did not play against St. Louis, could be back this week. … DL Jordan Hill, who missed the St. Louis game with a sprained ankle, is out again this week.