Seahawks QB Geno Smith injures knee in loss to Packers - ESPN

SEATTLE — The Seattle Seahawks' hopes of making the playoffs were dealt at least one significant blow Sunday night with their loss to the Green Bay Packers — and maybe another depending on the severity of Geno Smith's knee injury.

The veteran quarterback went down midway through the third quarter and did not return after taking a low hit from linebacker Edgerrin Cooper. Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said Smith's knee appears to be intact structurally, but his status for next Sunday's game against the Minnesota Vikings is up in the air.

«I'll tell you this, this guy is probably the toughest player I've ever been around,» Macdonald said after the Seahawks' 30-13 defeat. «It was severe enough for him not to come back in the game. We'll do all the tests tomorrow and kind of figure it out as we go. But right now, structurally it looks like it's OK, but we've got to get it imaged and all that stuff.»

As Smith was throwing an incomplete pass on first down, a diving Cooper hit the back of Smith's right leg, causing his knee to hyperflex as his cleat got stuck in the turf. Smith was visibly angered after the hit, which did not draw a penalty. He began to limp off the field before stopping to lay on his back in obvious pain. He was examined in the medical tent, then he limped into the tunnel.

Cooper said he thought the hit was «100 percent» clean.

«He just said I was diving at his ankles, but I was just trying to go get him down,» Cooper said. «That was it, simple as that.»

Smith jogged back onto the sideline in the fourth quarter with a heavy limp and at one point appeared ready to return to the game, putting his helmet on while standing near the edge of the sideline.

«He wanted to and then he was about to go back,» Macdonald