The Seattle Seahawks defeated the Washington Commanders on Sunday Night Football in Week 9, and did so in extremely impressive fashion. Seattle led 31-7, and Washington was lucky it wasn't worse. The final score of 38-14 was not indicative of how much the game was a blowout.
Head coach Mike Macdonald's team definitely served notice to the rest of the NFL that it is going to be an issue to deal with every week. The NFC West is tough, and while the Seahawks currently sit atop the division, they cannot afford any bad losses.
Seattle also cannot afford to have too many more key injuries on defense. The team survived without cornerback Devon Witherspoon and safety Julian Love, but the depth at those respective positions was good. Inside linebacker is far more questionable.
Seattle Seahawks could be without linebacker Ernest Jones IV for some time
Unfortunately, linebacker Ernest Jones IV injured his knee midway through the game and was ruled out. He was on the Seattle sidelines for a bit after his injury with a white towel over his head. That is never a good sign.
12s have likely learned that Mike Macdonald is not going to be forthcoming with much information about how badly Jones is hurt. First of all, Macdonald probably doesn't yet know how long Jones will be out. Testing will need to be done, and that likely won't happen until Monday.
Still, knee injuries are never good. Ernest Jones is the green dot on the Seahawks' defense, in charge of relaying Macdonald's play calls. Besides his ability to do well against the run, one might wonder if Seattle's defensive communication will struggle without Jones and Love on the field.
Seattle isn't scheduled to get any breaks the rest of the season, either. The bye week was in Week 8. The Seahawks play every Sunday through Week 15, and then have a Thursday Night Football game in Week 16. Maybe Jones can return by then, though fans might not know that for a while.
The positive part is that Drake Thomas has stepped up recently and done well opposite Jones. Tyrice Knight started halfway through last season and some of this year, so he at least knows the scheme well. Still, replacing Jones isn't going to be easy, and one might wonder if the Seahawks will make a move at the trade deadline in order to try to do so.