The Carolina Panthers defeated the Seattle Seahawks to advance to the NFC Championship game. Unfortunately, they lost a key member from their defense.

According to ESPN, defensive end Jared Allen fractured his foot in the 31-24 victory. We still don't know exactly when the injury occurred, but Allen is extremely doubtful to play against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. That's a big loss because the Cardinals have a great passing attack led by Carson Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald. Not having Allen on the field will only give Palmer more time to throw in the pocket.

Don't be surprised if the Panthers draw up some blitzes to account for the loss.

Allen was acquired midway through the season before the NFL trade deadline from the Chicago Bears. Although Allen did not record a single sack for the Bears, he has two sacks as a member of the Carolina Panthers. Allen has more career sacks (136) than any other player in the league. His 136 career sacks is tied for ninth all-time on the sack list. Longtime Buffalo Bills great Bruce Smith has the most sacks in NFL history with 200.

The Panthers haven't made it official on whether or not Allen will play, however Sports Illustrated recently reported that he is unlikely to play. Allen may even have to get foot surgery because of this injury, which would obviously keep him out of the remainder of the postseason. That same report indicate that Allen "broke a small" in his foot, but kept on playing.

Allen clearly isn't the sack master he once was, but he fits this system far better than the Bears. Despite not making a single tackle in the win over the Seahawks, Allen was still a huge disruptor at the line of scrimmage. Allen made several plays forcing Russell Wilson to throw the ball away before he wanted to.

Follow Damon Salvadore on Twitter @DamonSalvadore1