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Brady Henderson
RENTON, Wash. — Sam Darnold and his injured oblique are good to go for the NFC Championship Game.
The Seattle Seahawks Pro Bowl quarterback has no game designtion, though he was limited in practice all three days this week as part of the team’s plan to get him ready to play Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams at Lumen Field.
«I feel really good,» Darnold said Friday. «Feeling really good this whole week. I feel like the process is going right along where it should be, so I feel really good for Sunday.»
Darnold suffered the injury to his left side in practice last Thursday. He played through it two days later in the divisional round, completing 12 of 17 attempts for 124 yards and a touchdown before giving way to Drew Lock with nine minutes remaining in Seattle’s 41-6 win over the San Francisco 49ers.
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Coach Mike Macdonald said Wednesday that Darnold’s throwing would be curtailed this week as he continues to manage the injury. Macdonald said Friday that everything has gone according to plan this week with Darnold and that he’s getting better by the day.
«The guys in the training room do a really good job with everybody, myself included,» Darnold said. «We’re just taking it day by day and making sure I do all the things I need to do to get ready for Sunday.»
The top-seeded Seahawks will have starting left tackle Charles Cross protecting Darnold’s blindside Sunday after he missed the first two practices of the week due to a foot injury that sidelined him for the fourth quarter against the 49ers. Cross was a full participant Friday and has no game designation for Sunday.
Seattle’s backup left tackle, Josh Jones, is listed as questionable due to knee and ankle injuries. He also missed the first two days of practice before full participation Friday. No. 3 left tackle Amari Kight (knee) is doubtful.
Fullback Robbie Ouzts (neck) is questionable. Linebacker Chazz Surratt (ankle), who remains on injured reserve, is out.
The Seahawks on Friday placed running back Zach Charbonnet on IR, the result of the season-ending knee injury he suffered against the 49ers. Seattle also put rookie guard Bryce Cabeldue on IR to make room for rookie tight end Elijah Arroyo and running back George Holani, who were both activated off IR.
Macdonald declined to say which running back would assume the No. 2 role behind Kenneth Walker III in Charbonnet’s absence. The Seahawks have ex-Ram Cam Akers and Velus Jones Jr. on their practice squad.
«George is prepared,» Darnold said of Holani. «He’s been preparing for this moment the whole season. He stepped up in a big way for us early on and even in the preseason made a lot of really good plays. So we have a ton of confidence in George not only with his ability to go out there and make plays, but how smart he is and how he can handle everything in the system.»
Darnold secured the first playoff win of his eight-year NFL career when Seattle beat the 49ers.
Neither Darnold nor the Seahawks doubted that he would start that game, but there was some uncertainty about how he’d fare while playing through his first oblique injury. He opted not to take the field for the first time until about 45 minutes before kickoff, instead throwing in the locker room as part of an altered warmup routine. Darnold said his pregame routine should be similar on Sunday.
The Seahawks and Rams split their season series, with Los Angeles winning 21-19 at SoFi Stadium in November before Seattle prevailed 38-37 in overtime at Lumen Field in Week 16. The Seahawks are favored by 2.5 points in Round III against their NFC West rivals.
Since 2005, the Seahawks are 11-1 in home playoff games. The lone loss in that span was to the Rams during the 2020 COVID-19 season, when Lumen Field was empty. Until last Saturday, Seattle hadn’t played a home playoff game with fans in the stands since 2017.
«It’s going to be incredible,» Darnold said of the atmosphere on Sunday. «I don’t know how you top last week, but I’m sure the 12s will. They always bring it for us, so we’re excited for them.»
