Ernest Jones was trying to fight on, to the next play.
That’s what middle linebackers playing one of the sport’s most physically punishing positions do. Especially the best one Seattle’s had since Bobby Wagner.
But then Jones wobbled under his own feet outside the defense’s huddle Sunday night late in the first half. He dropped to the grass onto one knee, the one not in searing pain.
Finally, the Seahawks’ defensive signal-caller and centerpiece shuffled slowly the sideline and into the blue tent. Jones emerged a few minutes late and jogged, moving better, into the locker room.
He didn’t play the rest of the Seahawks’ 38-14 rout of the Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium. He didn’t have to.
After his team’s sixth win in seven games moved Seattle to 6-2 atop the NFC West, coach Mike Macdonald said it was possible Jones could miss the Seahawks’ home game Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals (2-5).
“Yeah, there’s a chance,” Macdonald said. “We’ll see.
“Earnest had a bit of a knee (injury). We’ll figure it out. I don’t know. It’s not season-ending, but we’ll see how it goes.”
Tyrice Knight, the benched former starting inside linebacker in his rookie season of 2024, entered after Jones got hurt. Drake Thomas, who took Knight’s job, moved to Jones’ jobs of middle backer and defensive signal caller after Jones went out in the second quarter. That was Seattle’s set-up in base defense the remainder of the blowout.
Jones provided evidence during the second half while in sweatpants and throwback team hoodie he may be playing again soon.
He was jumping up and down and roaring at the many big plays his defense continued making without him. On one third down in the third quarter, Jones leaped with teammate Riq Woolen at the edge of the sideline and looked like he also might breakup Washington quarterback Jaylen Daniels’ pass that led to another Washington punt.
Josh Jobe also injured
Starting cornerback Josh Jobe also left the game in the second quarter.
On the second play of the second quarter, Okada slammed into Jobe as they converged to make a tackle on Washington’s Deebo Samuel on a completed pass. Jobe went down on his knees on the field. Medical and training personnel helped him to the sideline and eventually the locker room.
Jobe did not return to the game.
“Yeah, so, concussion,” Macdonald said. “He’s in the (NFL concussion) protocol. So we’ll see how that goes, too.”
Jobe started, as he has all season. But this time it was opposite Devon Witherspoon. The two-time Pro Bowl cornerback played for only the third time in eight games returning from a bruised medial-collateral ligament in his knee. Witherspoon and Jobe were the outside cornerback. Rookie Nick Emmanwori stayed inside at the nickel back.
That’s where Emmanwori excelled in three games for Witherspoon. That was after Emmanwori missed a month with a high-ankle sprain.
Witherspoon’s return to starting opposite Jobe meant Woolen was out of the starting linebacker.
But only for one quarter plus two plays, because of Jobe’s injury.
Before it, Woolen played four snaps — not counting three negated by accepted penalties — as Macdonald’s sixth, dime defensive back. The Seahawks were headed to playing more dime Sunday night than they had all season, until Jobe’s injury.