Words by Roman White
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The Seahawks suffered a 42-7 loss at home to division rivals the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. A win would’ve moved Seattle to first place in the NFC West but instead grants the Rams the top spot and leaves the Super Bowl 48 Champion Seahawks in a fight for a Wild Card playoff spot.
Following the loss, Pro Bowl Safety Earl Thomas told reporters that Bobby Wagner should not have played with an injured hamstring. Wagner injured his hamstring a week earlier in a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Thomas states:
“You got to give your hats off to [Wagner] and a couple guys that played… but you know my personal opinion, I don’t think they should’ve played.”
Wagner, who is the team leader in tackles, responded to Thomas’ post-game comments on Twitter.
“E keep my name out yo mouth… Stop being jealous of other people success. I still hope you keep balling bro.” The tweet has since been deleted. Thomas has not responded to Wagner’s deleted tweet.
Thomas went on to explain how other key injuries also affected their performance in Sunday’s game. Linebacker K.J. Wright was also injured with a concussion in the Seahawks Week 14 loss to the Jaguars. Unlike Wagner, Wright was inactive for Sunday’s game because of the injury.
Earl Thomas doesn't think All-Pro LB Bobby Wagner should have played with bad hamstring for #Seahawks in blowout loss to Rams. "The backups would have done just as good." @thenewstribune pic.twitter.com/svmgAOE3D5
— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) December 18, 2017
The Seahawks defense often dubbed ‘The Legion of Boom’ had a great level of respect in the NFL as one of the best defenses in football prior to this season. Earl Thomas, Richard Sherman, and Kam Chancellor were especially popular having all made the Associated Press 2013 All-Pro team. Bobby Wagner would later join the ranks and earn AP First Team All-Pro honors in 2014 and 2016. These key players were the driving force in the Seahawks 43-8 Super Bowl win over the Peyton Manning led Broncos in 2014.