Most of the game Sunday looked so similar to their three losses, but the Seahawks finally managed to overcome their own charity and clumsiness to get their first win in three weeks and a measure of feel-good amid swirling reports of bad team chemistry.

The 13-9 win at Carolina was just as ugly as the Seahawks’ wins the past two years — 16-12 in 2012 and 12-7 last season — but it was picture perfect for a team trying to avoid the first three-game losing streak in the Russell Wilson era and trying to prove it has not lost its mojo.

“It means a lot,” wide receiver Doug Baldwin told reporters. “This is a true character win for us, coming off two losses and all the things the media was saying about us. We showed resiliency.”

Some will say it saved Seattle’s season, which is a bit extreme and premature considering the many issues the Hawks still have.

But it did send them home on a positive note as they host the winless Oakland Raiders and the sub.-500 New York Giants the next two weeks. Wins in those games would put the Hawks at 6-3 heading to Kansas City before playing five division-deciding games in the final six weeks.

The Hawks needed to stay within striking distance of Arizona (6-1), which beat Philadelphia for its third straight win to remain two games ahead of Seattle and San Francisco (both 4-3) in the NFC West.

The first half played out much the same way as games vs. San Diego and Dallas, which dominated time of possession and held off the Seahawks in the fourth quarter. Just like those games, the Hawks had the ball half as long as the opponent in the first half.

The difference this time was that the defense held the Panthers to field goals on their long first-half drives and then got off the field in good time throughout the second half.

Special teams kept the Hawks in it in the second quarter as Paul Richardson’s 47-yard kick return set up a 58-yard field goal by Steven Hauschka that tied a franchise record.

“To keep the score at six all day long … was huge,” coach Pete Carroll said. “To make a field goal from 58 yards and feel like you’re back in the game … happened because we had played so well on defense and kept them from scoring.”

While the defense let the Panthers hold the ball for 19 minutes on three long drives in the first half, it also held the Panthers to 63 rushing yards on 21 carries and kept Carolina out of the end zone. The Hawks had their best third-down day of the season, allowing the Panthers to convert on just 2 of 10.

The defense also finally got its first road takeaway of the season when Cam Newton fumbled on an option play at the Seattle 14-yard line. The Panthers actually fumbled three times on that drive, but Seattle failed to get one until Cliff Avril pounced on No. 3 for Seattle’s first takeaway in four road games.

They got another one on the first drive of the third quarter, when Kevin Pierre-Louis and Greg Scruggs pressured Newton into throwing a pick to Marcus Burley. That led to Seattle’s tying field goal after a 12-play drive went just 29 yards thanks to a holding penalty and some poor throws by Wilson.

After Carolina’s Graham Gano kicked his third field goal, from 46 yards, Wilson and the Seattle offense got the ball back with 4:37 left.

Wilson said he laughed in the huddle, thinking of the fourth-quarter winning drives in the same stadium the past two years. He told his teammates, “Hey man, we’ve been here for two years in a row. Just like this. Let’s go do it. One play at a time. Let’s be in the moment and let’s go win the game.”

Unlike the losses to San Diego and Dallas, when the Hawks had the ball with a chance to win or tie with about three minutes left, Seattle managed to pull of an 80-yard drive. Wilson finished it off with a 23-yard TD pass to Luke Willson.

“The past three years we’ve come here it’s been a tough game,” said Wilson, who is now 3-0 vs. Newton. “They are a very good football team. Their defense makes a lot of plays. They did a lot of great things tonight. To be able to come up with that huge drive … and come up with a huge win was big for us. We needed that.”

Wilson admitted he didn’t have his best game — he hit 20 of 32 passes for 199 yards.

“I think we were a little off. Like I said, I could have played a lot better,” he said. “That’s the thing I look forward to though. When I don’t play my best, I look forward to the next opportunity I have. And that’s every week. So those are the things I can continue to work on. You know, I’m still young. I’m still learning, still trying to work on a couple things here and there. But I’m looking forward to it with the guys we have.”

The defense held the Panthers to 113 yards in the second half and sacked Newton twice on the final drive. But the Hawks dropped a couple more interceptions and missed a chance to end it with a safety when Newton shook off Michael Bennett.

Like the offense, the defense still has a lot of room to improve.

“We can play better. We’ll do better,” Carroll said. “This team is still growing in this season and hopefully we’ll show that as we turn the corner at the halfway point.”