SEATTLE (AP) — After he rushed for his third touchdown in the Seattle Seahawks’ 41-6 win over the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional playoffs, Kenneth Walker III chucked the ball into the crowd.
Walker, who tied Shaun Alexander's record for TD runs in a playoff game, was grateful for his opportunity to make franchise history.
“It means a lot,” Walker said after Saturday night's victory. “We worked at it all season. I just got to give the credit to the O-line.
They had the holes there, and all I had to do was hit it.”
With the Seahawks one win away from the Super Bowl, they will need to rely on Walker as much as they have all season when they host the NFC West rival Los Angeles Rams on Sunday in the NFC championship game. Seattle's second-leading rusher, Zach Charbonnet, will miss the remainder of the playoffs with a knee injury that requires surgery.
“When he’s running the ball like he is,” offensive lineman Grey Zabel said of Walker, “it’s pretty incredible. It’s super fun to block for a guy like that, we just love doing our job up front.”
Walker rushed for 116 yards against the 49ers, his most this season. Over his last four games, Walker has 364 yards on 61 carries (a 5.96-yard average) with four touchdowns.
He had 1,027 yards rushing and five touchdowns in the regular season, while Charbonnet had 730 yards and 12 TDs.
Walker said improved vision contributed to his success, as well as trusting the linemen in front of him to do their jobs. Seattle's run game, which struggled earlier in the season, has been wearing down defenses in recent weeks.
“You can see it when they’re breathing, they’re tired,” Walker said. “They’re slow to get up. You can see it being demoralizing to them. We just got to keep doing that.”
If the Seahawks are going to succeed on the ground against the Rams, the load will fall on Walker. He's the only healthy running back on the roster, although Seattle has options on its practice squad.
While NFL receiving leader Jaxon Smith-Njigba had a quiet night against the 49ers, Cooper Kupp picked up the slack. The 2021 Offensive Player of the Year had five catches for 60 yards, his highest totals since a Dec. 14 win over Indianapolis.
Kupp’s regular season was his least productive since 2018, but he provides playoff experience the Seahawks need.
Tight end AJ Barner was not targeted against San Francisco, the first time since early November that he did not have a pass thrown his way.
Barner should be part of the game plan against Los Angeles, though. He had four catches for 49 yards and a touchdown in the Seahawks' win over the Rams on Dec. 18.
The Seahawks’ defense has held opponents to a combined 19 points over its last three games. The last offensive touchdown Seattle allowed was a rushing score by Carolina quarterback Bryce Young in Week 17.
While Rashid Shaheed has been a dynamic contributor on special teams — he returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown against the 49ers — he has done little in the pass game. Over the last four games, Shaheed has two catches for 10 yards on five targets.
In a radio interview on Monday, coach Mike Macdonald said left tackle Charles Cross’ departure from Saturday’s game with a foot injury was a precautionary move.
“Day to day with Charles,” Macdonald said. “We’re going to work through that, day-to-day is the best way to put it.”
Quarterback Sam Darnold played through an oblique injury and is expected to continue receiving treatment throughout the week.
8 — Consecutive wins by the Seahawks. Seattle’s longest win streak is 11 games, set during the 2005 season, which included its first-ever playoff victory and a trip to the Super Bowl.
The Seahawks hope to beat the Rams for the second time this season and advance to the fourth Super Bowl in franchise history and first in 11 years.
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