SEATTLE — For most of last week, no one knew if Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck would be able to play on Sunday.
No one would’ve blamed him if he didn’t.
After all, Hasselbeck was recovering from an extremely painful fractured rib suffered in a Sept. 20 game at San Francisco. Breathing was difficult. So was getting out of bed in the morning. He had to grit his teeth to tie his shoes.
“I wouldn’t wish this on anybody,” Hasselbeck said.
Injuries take time to heal, but time was already running out on the Seahawks in this young NFL season. With his team needing to quash a three-game losing streak, Hasselbeck made the decision to try.
“Mentally, I wanted to,” he said. “But physically, I didn’t know if I’d be able to help.”
Taking pain medication to help him practice, Hasselbeck worked out Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of last week, getting better each day. And by Saturday, said Seattle coach Jim Mora, “you could tell he was ready to go.”
The Seahawks were very good on Sunday, and a lot of players made important contributions. But the team’s biggest hero, hands down, was Hasselbeck, who completed 18 of 30 passes for 241 yards and four touchdowns in 41-0 victory over Jacksonville at Qwest Field.
Given the severity of Hasselbeck’s recent injury, his play was remarkable. His passion was infectious. His presence was inspiring.
He showed “tremendous courage,” Mora said with admiration. “He gave us the shot of juice we needed as a football team.”
Hasselbeck traveled with his teammates to Indianapolis for last week’s game against the Colts. The Seahawks lost 34-17, falling to 1-3, and on the flight back to Seattle they all talked about the urgency of the Jacksonville game.
“It was just sort of an ‘All hands on deck’ situation,” Hasselbeck said. “So I did what I could (at practice) on Wednesday and it was kind of ugly. But Thursday was a little bit better.”
And by then, he said, “there was no turning back.”
Against the Jaguars, Hasselbeck felt some tightness in his rib cage as he passed the ball, which necessitated slight changes in his throwing motion. But mostly he ignored the pain aided, he said, “by emotion and adrenaline.”
This morning, he went on, “will be the real test, pain-wise. I’m going to wake up with bumps and bruises, and I’m not going to know where they came from.”
Hasselbeck was unusually animated when he ran on the field during pregame introductions. His passion to compete was evident early in the game when he scrambled for 9 yards, was shoved out of bounds, and then bounced up and dashed back to the huddle.
“The energy, the enthusiasm and the confidence that he showed made a huge impact on our team today,” Mora said. “A huge impact on our team. And I think that signifies the importance of starting quarterbacks in the National Football League right there.”
Whenever Hasselbeck started to scramble, “I was yelling, ‘Get down, get down!’ I did that every time he started to run. But I thought Matt did a tremendous job of reigning in his competitive fire when he needed to, and he was smart about getting down. He’s a veteran, he’s savvy, he’s smart, he has tremendous vision, he can feel people around him, and he really did a nice job of taking himself out of harm’s way,” Mora said.
Hasselbeck’s play “gave the whole team a lift, not just the offense,” said wide receiver Deion Branch. “He’s one of our leaders and we count on him. He’s been battling a lot of things, and for him to come out and do what he did today, that was good.”
“Matt is really good for this team,” added running back Julius Jones. “Everybody really trusts him, so it was good to have him back.”
Hasselbeck was getting treatment in the locker room before the game and again at halftime, and he was late getting out on the field with his teammates both times. And there will be additional therapy this week as he prepares for next Sunday’s home game against Arizona.
Another chance for Hasselbeck to put aside pain in a game the Seahawks very much need to win.
“I have high regard for the guy,” Mora said. “I’ve never had a broken rib, but I don’t know that I’d like to put myself out there with 300 pounders bearing down on me if I did.
“But when your guy under center shows the guts and the courage that he’s shown, not just this week by playing, but through the last couple of weeks trying to get back to play … he’s really shown a commitment. And it means a lot to the football team.”
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