Richard Sherman And Earl Thomas Will Play In The Super Bowl
The Seattle Seahawks are going to the Super Bowl! Did you hear about this? They were losing by a couple of scores to the Green Bay Packers and had played super poorly all game, but then turned things around with minutes to go and won the NFC Championship. It was incredible! Back to back Super Bowl appearances! This is great!
More from Emerald City Swagger
- Seattle Seahawks: To rest or not to rest, that is the question
- Washington State Football: What you need to know for 2018 Alamo Bowl
- Washington Basketball: 3 takeaways from Huskies win over Sacramento St.
- Seattle Seahawks: 12s still waiting to exhale
- Seattle Seahawks: 4 Takeaways from 26-23 Loss to the 49ers
Before any of the fun stuff, the NFC Championship featured a pair of scary injuries to Seattle players who can justly be defined as critical members of the defense. Free safety Earl Thomas and corner Richard Sherman, each an all-pro and face of the best defense in the league, suffered injuries that appeared at least somewhat substantial. Both of them finished the game, but neither finished the game looking anywhere close to 100%.
Here’s the thing about injuries and the Super Bowl: nobody misses the Super Bowl. The two week gap functions as a bye of sorts, and time does wonders to heal injuries. There’s the adrenaline of the big game to be considered, as well. Unless a player can’t perform the basic functions of his job, he’s likely to at least suit up. So no Paul Richardson, of course, but Thomas and Sherman will absolutely be there.
With Thomas it was his left shoulder, an injury that forced him off the field and into the training room early in the second quarter. He missed some time, but was back in before the half was over. When he reappeared he was wearing a harness, and though questions linger about how bad of a hit he took, fact is he played more than half the game after getting hurt.
For Sherman, the magical fourth quarter started on a painful note. Smashed between a teammate and a receiver, he badly sprained his left elbow. It looked like a hyperextension, and quickly it became clear that the arm was going to be useless the rest of the game. Indeed, he held the limp arm across his body for the remainder of the game. What’s most amazing is that the injury didn’t seem to affect his style of play, at all.
And look, now he’s lining up in practices. Sherman’s injury will limit him in workouts and the like, but workouts aren’t the point. The point is playing in Super Bowl 49, and by all accounts it looks like he and Thomas will be able to participate in the big game from start to finish.
Worst case scenario would be the Seahawks losing two superstar defenders for the Super Bowl. That’s not going to happen, since nobody misses the Super Bowl. But it looks like the injuries suffered by Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman shouldn’t even be limiting them come game time. It’ll be the Seahawks at full strength versus the New England Patriots at full strength. Dreamy.