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RENTON, Wash. -- The Seahawks suffered a major scare when quarterback Russell Wilson got up from an Ndamukong Suh sack limping heavily early in the third quarter of Seattle's season opening 12-10 victory over the Miami Dolphins. Suh ran around Seahawks' right tackle Garry Gilliam and closed on Wilson, who fell to the ground in hopes of avoiding a major blow from Suh.
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It's one of Wilson's best traits. He finds a way to avoid taking big shots from opposing defenders most of the time. However, his attempt at protection didn't matter. Suh accidentally stepped on the back outside portion of Wilson's right heel, wrenching his ankle awkwardly toward the turf.
Wilson could barely move for the remainder of the series as Seattle had to punt after two more plays. Rookie backup quarterback Trevone Boykin began warming up on the sidelines.
But Wilson never left the game. He's never missed a meaningful snap in five seasons as Seattle's starting quarterback and had no intention to start now.
"No shot," he said. "I was going out, no matter what. That's just my mentality, whatever it takes. We have to find a way to win."
"We never thought for a second that he wasn't going to play," head coach Pete Carroll added. "We just taped him up and sent him on back out. Really courageous fashion, I thought it was great. Then, to play that well, to be able to finish the game in that kind of fashion and make all the calls and do it all and elude the rush like he needed to, that was just fantastic."
Wilson seemed to have his mobility improve marginally as the game progressed. Trailing 10-6 with just over four minutes to play, Wilson led Seattle on a game-winning 75-yard drive that was capped by a 2-yard touchdown pass to Doug Baldwin with 31 seconds remaining.
"I was pretty limited," Wilson said. "But I was telling Coach Carroll and some of the trainers, when I'm 43, 44, 45 years old and still playing, that's probably what I'll look like out there.
Wilson acknowledged he's a little sore, but was adamant he'd be ready to play against the Los Angeles Rams next Sunday.
Nevertheless, Wilson may have to adapt to limited mobility in the short-term depending on how quickly his ankle recovers from after being stomped on by a 305-pound defensive tackle. Early returns were positive on Monday regarding his chances to play against the Rams.
"He's pretty good. He's not in a boot. He's walking around and he's practicing on Wednesday," Carroll said. "He's planning on playing and we'll see how it goes."
NOTES: RB C.J. Prosise cracked a bone in his right wrist in the second half on Sunday that essentially ended his afternoon. The wrist was put in a cast and Prosise was available for special teams duty if necessary. However, his backfield opportunities evaporated due to the injury. Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said Monday that they didn't believe the injury would keep Prosise from being able to play. ... TE Jimmy Graham was active and played just 17 snaps for the Seahawks. However, he was on the field for most of Seattle's final possession and caught his first pass -- an 11-yard throw from Wilson -- to move the Seahawks inside Miami's red zone. ... CB Tharold Simon was inactive for the game with a knee injury after being able to practice just once last week.
