The Seattle Seahawks are only one win away from another trip to the Super Bowl, but the team will have to pursue this goal without a key running back.
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Head coach Mike McDonald has revealed that running back Zach Charbonnet will miss the rest of the season. He tore his ACL during a 41-6 divisional round beatdown of the San Francisco 49ers. He will have to undergo surgery as the Seattle Seahawks move toward the NFC championship game against the rival Los Angeles Rams.
This injury will put extra pressure on Kenneth Walker, who delivered a standout performance against the 49ers. Walker posted 145 scrimmage yards and three touchdowns while carrying the load for the Pacific Northwest team.
Charbonnet joined the Seahawks as a second-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. The former Michigan and UCLA running back has since appeared in 49 regular-season games while starting eight. He has worked alongside Walker while steadily increasing his stat line each season.
Charbonnet's first season in the league, 2023, featured him rushing for 462 yards and one touchdown. He added 209 yards as a receiving option. One year later, he rushed for 569 yards and eight touchdowns. He posted 340 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown.
This season saw the running back posting a career-high 730 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. He added 144 yards as a receiving option for quarterback Sam Darnold.
The Seahawks will now move forward without Charbonnet while hosting the NFC championship game for only the fourth time in franchise history. The NFC West team previously hosted the championship game during the 2005, 2013, and 2014 seasons.
Each time the Seahawks hosted the NFC championship, the team moved on to the Super Bowl. The Matt Hasselbeck-led team ultimately fell to the Steelers at the end of the 2005 season. The Russell Wilson-led team defeated the Broncos at the end of the 2013 season to claim the Lombardi Trophy.
Wilson led the Seahawks back to the Super Bowl during the 2014 season. The Patriots won this matchup after Wilson threw a late interception at the goal line.
