The Seattle Seahawks will face their divisional-round playoff battle at Atlanta without their top pass rusher as defensive end Chris Clemons has a torn ACL and is out for the remainder of the season, the team confirmed on Monday.
Clemons suffered the injury in Sunday's wild-card win at Washington and had an MRI exam that confirmed the injury on Monday. Clemons was not hit on the play and appeared to get his cleats caught in the turf at FedEx Field.
“We’ll miss him,” The Seattle Times quoted Seahawks coach Pete Carroll as saying. “It's a big loss for us in a lot of ways. Chris has been a great football player, just a symbol of consistency for the years we’ve had them. But he’s been a great leader for us and a tough dude, and a guy we just have become very comfortable with.”
Clemons later sent a tweet after learning of the severity of the injury: "I want to thank everyone for there prayers. I will be ready for next season. We still got a Super Bowl to win!"
Clemons led Seattle with 11-1/2 sacks in the regular season. He had two tackles against the Redskins before being injured.
Seattle kicker Steven Hauschka also suffered a calf strain in the victory. Coach Pete Carroll said Hauschka felt better on Monday.
The FedEx Field playing surface in Washington came under heavy fire on Monday, as celebrated Redskins rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III also left the game with a knee injury without being touched in Sunday's game. The status of his injury is yet to be determined, though reports say he tore ligaments.
