Even RB Robert Turbin, a backup who made four starts in 81 career NFL games over eight seasons, had to chuckle over the fuss being made about him. Oh, and the other old newbie too.
“Marshawn and I laughed about it earlier today,” he said. “It’s like, ‘Man, we picked a heck of a week to come back, didn’t we?’
“With the NFC West championship on the line for the team, I couldn’t think of a better opportunity.”
The idea of hiring off the figurative couch two former Seahawks, neither of whom has played this year, to rescue a suddenly broken Seattle team at its seasonal apex moment against the arch-rival, is one of the more absurd storylines in recent NFL history.
But whether Marshawn Lynch Sunday plays against San Francisco like a house afire or Mrs. Doubtfire may be secondary to another personnel mystery: Whether DE Jadeveon Clowney is more like Jadeveon Clowney than Lynch is Beast Mode.
Nov. 11 in Santa Clara on a wild Monday night of football, Clowney had 10 quarterback pressures, five QB hits, a sack, five tackles and another for a loss, plus a scoop-and-score touchdown from a fumble he forced that broke the Seahawks’ first-half torpor. Named NFC defensive player of the week, Clowney was the single biggest reason the Seahawks won 27-24 in overtime to help create the stakes Sunday (5:20 p.m., NBC): The division title and a chance to get a first-round bye in the playoffs.
But Clowney has hardly been heard from since.
Somewhere during that game, he doesn’t exactly know when or how, Clowney injured a core muscle at the top of his right leg. He’s been inactive for three of the subsequent five games, compromised further by a bad case of the flu.
But after missing the past two games against Carolina and Arizona, he’s healed sufficiently to leave no doubt about Sunday.
“There’s no way I’m not playing,” he said Thursday in the locker room before practice. “The team needs me this week. I gotta be out there with them. I’ll do whatever’s needed to help us win.”
In making a full commitment, Clowney, whose sports hernia is fixable only via surgery, is taking some financial risk.
Continuing to play increases the chance that he will be shut down for surgery, which not only hurts the Seahawks defense in the playoffs, it damages his market in free agency. He’s on the final year of his contract, and as part of the trade that brought him from Houston, the Seahawks agreed not to use the franchise tag to keep him in 2020.
Clowney said he’s good with the risk.
“I’ve watched around the building what they do for the guys on this team,” he said. “It’d be selfish (to have in-season surgery), to not go if I could. I’ll give them everything I got. If I didn’t, I’d be a selfish person. I ain’t no selfish person.
“I’ll give what I got, and let the chips fall where they may.”
Then there’s the pragmatic angle.
“If we get this one, it’s a chance to get a bye,” he said. “My whole game plan is to help us win this game to get a bye. Heal up, get the next (second-round playoff game).”
A vicory would also help justify the Seahawks’ commitment to the single-year gambles they made to win this season, including the Clowney deal, the free agent signing of DE Ziggy Ansah, the waiver claim for WR Josh Gordon and the late-season trade for FS Quandre Diggs.
The cumulative impact of those decisions has helped get the Seahawks where they aimed once the 2019 schedule was revealed in April: To the final week of the season against the Niners with a chance to win the division at home.
But the deed was accomplished with production from Clowney and Ansah that fell short of expectations, largely due to health.
Clowney has made 10 starts, accumulating 30 tackles, three sacks, six tackles for loss, 13 QB hits, three passes defensed, four forced fumbles and two recoveries, and the scoop and score.
Ansah has made one start, and has 16 tackles, 2½ sacks, three tackles for loss, eight QB hits, two passes defensed, two forced fumbles and two recoveries.
They were part of a defense in the first meeting that forced three turnovers and held the 49ers to 302 yards, including OT. Each has caused disruptions that aren’t counted but nevertheless felt by offenses.
Still, there have been too many games where quarterbacks haven’t had their hairstyles mussed. The Seahawks’ 26 sacks are 30th in the NFL. Carolina leads with 52, and San Francisco is fifth with 47. And this time around, the SF offense has two Pro Bowlers healthy: TE George Kittle and LT Joe Staley.
Despite the shortfalls, all the Seahawks need is a win for a 12-4 record, a bye, a home field and a relegation of the 49ers to the fifth seed.
Clowney was heartened when he heard rumors of the pursuit of Lynch after the desultory 27-13 loss to Arizona.
“We lost both our backs — dang, that hurt us,” he said of Chris Carson and C.J. Prosise. “Now, we got two veteran backs who know how to take care of the ball and everything we preach around here.
“There’s not gonna be a big falloff.”
Clowney noticed the mood elevation in the locker room.
“There’s a buzz going on around here,” he said. “It’s big, seeing him. I just want to sit back and watch what he do. Watching his highlights, this dude runs extremely hard. Give him the ball, your eyes are glued on him — what’s he gonna do?
“He’s a highlight reel waiting to happen.”
The Seahawks are just as eager to see the sequel to Clowney’s Monday night Oscar winner.
17 Comments
I’m an optimist, 50-50 we win this game. If Clowney can give 80% of the effort he gave in the first 9’er game that would be a positive. A big game from Ansah and Poona/Reed is necessary to slow down the 9’ers while putting pressure on the QB. Our OL needs gorilla glue and a pray. Can they play average?
LT Jamarco Jones has a sore shoulder that limited him in practice this week. But SF is without DT Dee Ford, and the rest of the D-line has faded from the 8-0 start. Still good, but SF is hurting too.
Another excellent piece, Art. Thanks for a year of outstanding journalism, humor and a bit of an edge. Happy New Year.
Thanks for reading, and writing, kind sir. HNY backatya.
My big three— Thiel, Boswell and Lupica.
Thanks Art!
Just the difference of the returns of Kittle & Staley I’ve figured all along to be enough to sway the advantage to the 49ers. Down on linemen for the Seahawks, in addition to other key starters is gonna be an uphill battle. Seahawks are gonna need a great game plan, no mistakes and a lot of heart. Everyone on the home sideline and stadium needs to go full tilt 60+ minutes. It’s amazing that they’re in this position in the first place. GO HAWKS!
49ers missing DE Ford, DT Taylor, CB Tartt, OLs Person and Richburg. That’s part of why this outcome is hard to read. Injuries at the end of a season add up in unknowable ways.
That’s really good news. Adding up the unknowable – It will be interesting to see the final alignment of strengths and weaknesses in this one. Hoping for a competitive evening!
Staley was there for the first Niner game, and Clowney ate his lunch. But Kittle is another story. Our D has never been good against tight ends, and Kittle is a very good one.
Please Marshawn don’t fumble. One yard and goal, they are going to fool everyone and pass. Both hands Marshawn on all touches.
Fumbling is a rare thing for Lynch. But he hasn’t been hit in the arms in 14 months.
He hasn’t seen any game action, obviously, but some videos of his training routines are online and he’s definitely been taking hits – to his arms, to his legs, to his gut, etc. Dude is a tough son of a gun; I doubt he’s going to fumble against the Niners.
I’m hoping that Clowney realizes that with the acquisitions of Diggs, Gordon (who didn’t work out) and Beastmode that this team will always do what it needs to do in order to succeed and re-up with the Seahawks. When he’s healthy he’s a load.
He likes it here, but money talks.
I’m just not sure about paying him in excess of $20 million annually if he plays 13 games a season with 2 sacks a season. But he is an incredible disruptive force on the field.
It seems that a good number of NFL games are decided on which team has the fewest critical injuries. The theory of “next man up” has its merits, but there can be no doubt that Carson and Penny chose (😀) the worst possible time to be disabled. I’m hoping the intangibles associated with the presence of the Beast and Turbin will make a strong positive difference. A victory would be so sweet, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
Why, with effective vaccines are teams sending players home with flu