The Seattle Seahawks are set to be without their star wide receiver for the rest of the season as Tyler Lockett has reportedly broken his finder and is likely to undergo surgery.
It would be a huge blow for the Seahawks, who remain in a good spot to make the playoffs, in a battle for the last two places along with the Detroit Lions, Washington Commanders and New York Giants.
The Seahawks are already heavily reliant on Lockett and fellow superstar DK Metcalf in the passing game, which will hugely hamper their post-season aspirations. Lockett ranks eight in the league in receiving yards and ninth in catches in what many expected to be a tough year for him after the Seahawks traded away quarterback Russell Wilson.
But Geno Smith has put together a remarkable season, performing as a top 10 quarterback after being a back-up throughout his career.
The 30-year-old suffered the injury late in Thursday night's game, a loss to their division rival San Francisco 49ers, one that secured the NFC West for the Niners and their play-off berth with it.
Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll confirmed the news, as he said: "There's a couple different ways that they can do the surgery. One of the ways gives him a chance to be back.
"Remember Rashaad Penny ... had an injury similar, very similar. So they've already floated that thought and they're going to talk about all the options and all that and we're going to love him up and take care of him. Whatever the right thing to do to take care of him, we're going to do."
The Seahawks have had a rollercoaster season, after defeating Russell Wilson and the team they traded him to, the Denver Broncos, on the opening night of the season before putting together a four-game winning streak to put them atop of their division, after being favourites to finish with the worst record in the NFL by a number of analysts.
But in recent weeks, they have cooled off, particularly struggling on defence heading into the final weeks of the season. The Niners meanwhile, continue to roll on their third-string quarterback Brock Purdy, who walked into Seattle's notorious tough home field, and handily quieted the crowd as he impressed once again.
After losing both Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo, the seventh-round last pick of the most recent NFL draft Purdy has stepped in to the starting position and looked like a legitimate above average quarterback - and could lead the Niners to a Super Bowl with their dominant defence.
That was on display last night, with Nick Bosa continuing to prove why he should win the defensive player of the year award, leading the league in sacks (15.5), whilst the team showed their speed and coverage abilities to shut down stars Lockett, Metcalf and rookie Kenneth Walker.
