RENTON — Russell Wilson had three touchdowns in the second half.
J.D. McKissic had two touchdowns in his season debut. Marcus Smith forced a fumble that Bobby Wagner turned into a decisive touchdown. Justin Coleman intercepted a pass for another score.
But to Pete Carroll, there were other heroes from the Seahawks’ home victory over Indianapolis on Sunday night.
Paramedics from the Seattle Fire Department.
About 30 minutes after the game ended Carroll, general manager John Schneider and dozens of Seahawks players watched in fear as emergency medical technicians, with the assistance of team doctors, tended to second-year left tackle Rees Odhiambo, who was having trouble breathing because of an elbow to the chest he took in the third quarter.
They put leads for monitoring wires on Odhiambo’s chest. They eventually got the 6-foot-4, 315-pound tackle onto the floor and summoned a stretcher.
Fellow offensive lineman Justin Britt was shaken for his comrade. The center got down on one knee next to Carroll, right next to the prone Odhiambo, as the medical personnel continue to work quietly but intently.
The scary scene lasted about 15 minutes before Odhiambo was transported to a nearby hospital. He stayed there into Monday for tests that Carroll said determined he has a bruised sternum, not a cardiac contusion as ESPN reported.
“There was such a fantastic group of the guys around him. They were in absolute control,” Carroll said. “It was just impressive to watch those guys work and communicate, and look after him, and the way that they were helping him through it and reinforcing him and communicating with him. I heard that these guys are supposed to be really good, but man, they were on it.”
As for Odhiambo’s status for Sunday’s game at the Los Angeles Rams (3-1) — the early leaders of the NFC West one game in front of Seattle — the Seahawks will likely prepare Matt Tobin to possibly play. Tobin arrived in August in a trade from Philadelphia, near the end of the preseason.
“He has been released from the hospital. They took a good look at him,” Carroll said of Odhiambo. “He does not have a bruised heart, which was out there. Somebody made that up. That isn’t what he has. He’s got a bruised sternum. He’s fine and all, but we will see what that means. I’m not sure what that means for the week. It is nothing beyond that (sternum bruise).”
Pro Bowl defensive end Cliff Avril had “serious stingers,” nerve injuries in his neck that went down his spine, in the first quarter Sunday night. The 31-year-old Avril left the game after 11 plays and did not return.
He’s out indefinitely.
“It’s going to be a while to figure out what he’s got. We’ve got to make sure that we get him cleared and figured out, so there are going to be some tests and stuff like that,” Carroll said. “I don’t have any timeline on that, at all. But we are going to take care of him and make sure we take our time and do this very well, to look after him.”
Avril’s injury occurred when he got kicked under the chin by Jacoby Brissett while Avril was pursuing the Colts’ quarterback on a play in the first half. Avril could be seen shaking his hands and arms trying to regain feeling.
On Monday the Seahawks brought back 2016 fifth-round pick Quinton Jefferson for their defensive line. They signed him to the active roster off the Rams’ practice squad.
Lead running back Chris Carson was to have surgery on Tuesday that is typical for a severe high-ankle sprain. He also has a fracture in his lower leg, Carroll said. The rookie seventh-round pick has an “outside chance” to return off injured reserve late this season.
Carson could return after a minimum of eight weeks on injured reserve, or after Nov. 27. Recent changes to league rules for IR say each team can bring back two players off the list as long as they are on it for at least eight weeks.
There is no indication whether Carson’s injury will heal in time for him to play again this season, but the option is there.
For now, Thomas Rawls will come back this week, likely angry from being a healthy scratch on Sunday for the first time in his career. Eddie Lacy (a game-high 52 yards on 11 carries) is coming off his best game yet for Seattle. McKissic earned more plays at running back and receiver with two touchdowns in his 10 plays against Indianapolis.
Odhiambo’s bruised sternum, while serious and painful enough, looked far more serious in the locker room late Sunday night.
“I was sitting right next to Rees right at the top of the whole thing that was going on there and Justin Britt was with me right there and coaches were around,” Carroll said. “Just to watch those guys work, it was fantastic, and they took really great care of him. And that’s a big man to move, so that was very impressive. We were very fortunate to have that group. I don’t know if those guys are stadium guys or where they come from. But they were first-rate.”
Odhiambo got elbowed in the chest by Colts linebacker Jabaal Sheard during an interception return by Indianapolis’ Malik Hooker with 6 minutes left in the third quarter. Yet he played the final 1½ quarters with the bruised sternum and trouble breathing. He didn’t miss a single snap, though Wilson noticed Odhiambo was having issues in the huddle between plays.
“He just sucked it up, and it kind of caught up with him after the game when he started to calm down when all of the adrenaline wasn’t pumping and all,” Carroll said. “He played pretty good. He had some problems, as everyone does, but he played a pretty good football game — particularly under the circumstances. Russell said afterward that he could see him in the huddle that he was struggling, and didn’t know what it was all about. But he was just struggling to catch his breath. It was gallant. It was a great effort.”
Carroll said the Seahawks are going to submit film of the play to the NFL to ask about what the legality of Sheard’s hit to Odhiambo’s chest. It happened directly in front of an official, but no flags were thrown.
“We’ll turn it in,” Carroll said. “We’ll turn it in and see what the league says.”
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