SAN FRANCISCO – His neck too stiff to rotate, and his joints just beginning to tense up from another three hours of butting heads, Chike Okeafor stood in a cramped locker room and summed things up best.
The Seattle Seahawks may be beaten up, but they’re not alone.
“It happens. That’s the sport,” said Okeafor, who played through neck spasms in Seattle’s 42-27 win at San Francisco on Sunday. “Things are going to happen, and you have to keep on going.”
As the injuries piled up, the Seahawks have had no choice but to keep going. Fortunately for them, a group of key players were along for the ride.
Wide receiver Darrell Jackson and linebacker Anthony Simmons, who one week ago looked more likely to run for president than play in a football game, were among those who forced their way onto the field when the Seahawks needed them most.
Also playing through the pain were Okeafor, receiver Jerry Rice and offensive linemen Steve Hutchinson and Chris Terry.
“When you’re struggling a little bit, the training room tends to get a little full,” Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren said. “But, shoot, these guys wanted to play today.
“Darrell came up big – I mean, huge – in this game. And I really didn’t think he was going to play.”
Jackson’s sprained right ankle kept him off the practice field all week. He was listed as questionable by mid-week, then downgraded to doubtful on Friday.
But after going through a short workout Saturday morning, Jackson proved that his tender ankle was up to the task.
“That lets you know what type of player he is,” receiver Koren Robinson said. “You go all week without practicing, and then come out and have a big game? That says a lot.”
Jackson didn’t just have a big game Sunday; he may have had his biggest game of the season. With five receptions, 114 yards and two touchdowns, he allowed Seattle’s passing game to keep stride with a San Francisco offense that was piling up points at a remarkable pace.
“The guys in the training room did a great job of getting me ready to play this week,” said Jackson, who acknowledged that he played the game in pain. “They took some time with me and worked on me really good. You’ve got to give them credit.”
Seattle’s receiving corps was so hobbled that the team added two wideouts from the practice squad late last week. Jackson and Rice, also hobbled by a sprained ankle, were able to play even though it looked precarious earlier in the week.
Rice returned to practice Thursday after missing the entire second half of the previous Sunday’s game. He was on the field for nine plays against San Francisco, all in the first half.
“A guy like Jerry Rice, who’s in his 20th year, he didn’t have to do that,” Seahawks linebacker Isaiah Kacyvenski said. “But he wants to win, and he wants to win now. That set the precedent for everybody else.”
Simmons also seemed unlikely to play earlier in the week, seeing as how he was coming off Oct. 21 shoulder surgery. But he had vowed to return two weeks after the procedure, and Simmons made good on that promise Sunday.
“I’m confident enough in my work habits and my body that I knew I’d be back in two weeks,” he said. “And that’s exactly what I did.”
Simmons was rewarded with his first touchdown in almost six years. The 28-year-old linebacker picked off a Tim Rattay pass and returned it 23 yards for a score in the fourth quarter Sunday.
“Any time you can get the ball on defense and take it in for a score, it means your chances are good of winning the ball game,” Simmons said.
Unlike previous games, when Simmons played on the weak side, he was asked to cover the tight end Sunday so that Chad Brown could rush the passer. The results were encouraging, with consistent pressure from Seattle’s defense and a modest five receptions from 49ers tight end Eric Johnson, San Francisco’s leading receiver.
“I’m fine with covering the tight end,” Simmons said. “I don’t think there’s a tight end in this league that’s going to run away from me, so it’s not something I’m worried about.”
Simmons, Jackson, Rice, Okeafor, Hutchinson (sprained ankle) and Terry (ailing shoulder) were among the walking wounded Sunday, but they made enough of an impact to help lead the Seahawks to a much-needed win.
“There were a handful of guys there that really, really went the extra mile last week in rehab and getting ready to play the game,” Holmgren said. “I was very, very proud of them, and I think that’s something we can look up to as a team.”
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