© Joe Nicholson | 2019 Dec 22
Sunday was a brutal day for the Seattle Seahawks.
In addition to getting upset by the Cardinals at home, 27-13, Seattle will be without three key players when they play for the NFC West title next week vs. the San Francisco 49ers.
Starting running back Chris Carson sustained a hip injury that may end his season according to head coach Pete Carroll. Carson entered Sunday as the NFL’s fourth-leading rusher, accumulating 1,190 yards on the ground while averaging 4.4 per carry.
Carson’s backup, C.J. Prosise, will also be on the shelf with a season-ending broken arm also sustained vs. the Cardinals. The injuries leave rookie sixth-round pick Travis Homer as the team’s only healthy running back. Homer has just eight carries this season and gained 16 yards on five attempts Sunday.
Perhaps the most significant injury is that of left tackle Duane Brown, who was unable to play on Sunday with a chronic knee issue that he’ll have surgery on next week. Brown may return this season should the Seahawks make a playoff run, but he will unavailable in Week 17.
Brown’s absence contributed to significantly compromised pass protection for Russell Wilson vs. the Cardinals. Wilson was sacked five times and took seven official hits with Jamarco Jones (who was making his first career start) protecting his blind side. Wilson threw for just 169 yards going 16-for-31.
“It was really protection-related,” Carroll said of the passing game issues. “We weren’t able to get the ball off. We couldn’t get the ball to them. We thought that Patrick [Peterson] did a good job on D.K. [Metcalf] for the most part … Russ couldn’t do anything about it. It was a really hard day protection-wise.”
The three aforementioned players will join defensive starters cornerback Shaquill Griffin, defensive end Jadeveon Clowney and safety Quandre Diggs as players also expected to miss next Sunday’s game.