CHICAGO — The scene was bad enough when it played out the first time with Seattle tight end John Carlson being strapped to a backboard. The day turned downright frightening for the Seahawks when later in their 35-24 loss to Chicago, cornerback Marcus Trufant suffered a similar injury.
T
he news was about as positive as could be hoped for, however both players were hospitalized and kept over night for observation with concussions.
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said neither player appears to have suffered injuries beyond a concussion, and both were reported to have feeling in their extremities. Both were immobilized and carted off the field as a precaution.
“Both guys are in the hospital, both guys were concussed,” Carroll said. “All indications are that both are OK. They are going to keep them overnight, but both are OK. It was a serious concussion on the field for both of those guys. The crews out there handled it really well and did all the right stuff for their safety. Both were OK, there didn’t look to be any injuries past just the fact that they had a concussion.”
Carlson’s injury came early in the first quarter when he was upended attempting to hurdle a defender. Carlson landed hard on his head on the Seahawks sideline, and stayed down motionless for several minutes. In the second half, Trufant went low to make a tackle and took a knee in the head, which knocked him unconscious.
Seeing two players go down with serious injuries took its toll on Seahawks players.
“It was a challenge just to refocus and not let your mind drift to what’s going on with them,” quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said. “… It’s just one of those things, put it on the list of things we had to overcome today and it was just probably too much for us.”
Other injuries
Cameron Morrah, the only other tight end active for Sunday’s game, left the game with a turf-toe injury. He did return, though not at full strength. Running back Marshawn Lynch suffered a shoulder injury and running back Justin Forsett hurt his ankle late in the game. Fullback Michael Robinson had a rib injury, but Carroll said X-rays were negative.
Battling the elements
The Seahawks maintained during the week that weather wouldn’t be a problem, but the cold temperatures and first-half snow seemed to hinder their ability to catch the ball. Several receivers dropped catchable balls, as did safety Jordan Babineaux, and Leon Washington had trouble handling a kickoff.
“The snow challenged you a little bit,” Carroll said. “That maybe was a little bit of a distraction. Other than that, there should have been no reason. (The Bears) caught the ball well.”
Added safety Earl Thomas: “We’ve got a lot of material to keep us warm. That really didn’t make a difference at all.”
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