Seahawks dominate 49ers, but Wilson's sprained knee casts shadow



SEATTLE – There was a lot for the Seattle Seahawks to celebrate Sunday afternoon until suddenly, maybe there wasn’t.

Seattle’s offense came alive in a dominant 37-18 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday at CenturyLink Field, but Russell Wilson’s injury in the third quarter cast a pall over what should’ve been viewed as an extremely hopeful sign for Seahawks fans.

"He’s in good spirits, just like you would think," coach Pete Carroll said after the game. "He has no intention of thinking anything other than he’s playing (next week). He sprained his knee a little bit.

"He’s lucky, and he knows it. He was in a bad situation."

Wilson went down on a vicious-looking hit, and the training staff wrapped his left knee and pulled him from the game. Carroll said Wilson will still undergo an MRI.

Wilson said he was feeling OK though.

"I don't think it's as severe as it looked," he said after the game. "Walking fine and all that, moving well, got good mobility."

It was a terrifying moment in what had until then been a near-perfect afternoon.

"My heart dropped," receiver Doug Baldwin said. "It was weird, because I haven’t felt like that in a long time – my heart just dropping out of my chest like that."

Until Wilson's injury, there’d virtually been nothing but good news.

After two weeks in which the Seahawks struggled mightily to put points on the board, the  offense came alive in spectacular fashion as the team improved to 2-1 with the win over their NFC West rivals.

After two games in which there was nary a hero to be found on offense, Seattle found no fewer than three.

There was Christine Michael, who got the start in place of an injured Thomas Rawls and responded with his best NFL game, carrying the ball 20 times for 106 yards and two touchdowns.

Then there was Jimmy Graham, who looked unstoppable as he hauled in six passes for 100 yards, including an absolute stunner on a jump ball late in the first half.

And Baldwin put together a career game, with 8 catches for 164 yards and a touchdown, including an utterly spectacular 12-yard diving grab that will go down as one of the season’s highlights.

Wilson finished the game 15 of 23 passing for 243 yards and one touchdown.

"This was a really good day for us and we needed this badly," Carroll said.