HOUSTON — An already bad day for the Seattle Seahawks turned scary for a moment Sunday when rookie linebacker Aaron Curry was motionless, face-down on the field during the fourth quarter of Seattle’s 34-7 loss.
Curry eventually was able to sit up and leave the field on a cart, and by the time the team was in the locker room, the No. 4 overall pick of last April’s draft was on his feet, though admittedly in pain with what turned out to be a hip pointer. The injury occurred when fellow linebacker David Hawthorne put a helmet into Curry’s hip as both tried to make a tackle.
Curry said X-rays revealed nothing broken, though an MRI will likely be performed today, Seahawks coach Jim Mora said.
Curry said it was the first time in his football career he has had to get a ride off the field.
“I didn’t really get any strength back in my leg until after the ride to the X-ray machine,” he said. “When I got off of that everything kind of calmed down and I was able to limp to the X-ray.”
Curry still appeared to be in considerable pain after the game, exhaling deeply to lift his leg and put on a sock. Asked if he had ever had hip pointer before, he said: “If this is a hip pointer, no… . I thought a hip pointer was something else.”
Curry said he held no ill will toward Hawthorne for the hit.
“Hat’s off to Heater for just playing full speed no matter what the situation was,” he said. “I can’t knock anybody for that.”
Curry wasn’t the only Seahawk to leave with an injury. Receiver Nate Burleson limped off with an ankle injury after catching a pass in the third quarter and did not return. Mora said Burleson will have an MRI to evaluate the injury today.
T.J. Houshmandzadeh also failed to finish the game after getting hit and going down hard in the fourth quarter, but Mora said the receiver should be OK.
Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck briefly left the game after taking a hit from Houston linebacker DeMeco Ryans. He said the hit aggravated the shoulder injury he suffered last week, and Mora added that Hasselbeck may have also hurt his thumb. Seneca Wallace relieved Hasselbeck for the rest of that series, but Hasselbeck returned and played the rest of the game.
Hasselbeck finished the game 24-of-35 for 247 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Stumbling out of the gate
Keeping up with a trend that has gone on all season, the Seahawks struggled early, particularly in the first quarter, and were unable to recover.
The Seahawks started the season by turning the ball over three times in the first quarter, though fortunately for them that game was against St. Louis, so Seattle came back and won. But the following week in San Francisco, Seattle was down 10-0 in the first quarter and didn’t recover.
The Seahawks also trailed by double digits in the first quarter against Arizona (14-0) and Detroit (17-0). Additionally, Indianapolis enjoyed an 18-point halftime lead against Seattle and Minnesota led by 21 at the intermission.
Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more Seahawks coverage, check out the Seahawks blog at heraldnet.com/seahawksblog
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