After an impressive season ending in clinching the NFC’s No. 1 seed, the Seattle Seahawks were rewarded with a week off as the rest of the NFC’s playoff teams duked it out. They wasted no time sprinting out to a quick lead over the San Francisco 49ers.
However, late in the second quarter, running back Zach Charbonnet would take a huge shot from 49ers linebacker Dee Winters. While he was able to bounce off the hit and keep going, he tweaked his knee. Here’s everything to know about his status for the rest of the night.
What Happened to Seattle Seahawks RB Zach Charbonnet?
The Seahawks were dominant from the opening kickoff as wide receiver and kick return specialist Rashid Shaheed scored in the first 13 seconds on a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. That lead would grow to 17-0 before the 49ers were able to respond with a couple of field goals.
With the offense firing on all cylinders, the offense continued to churn. However, late in the second quarter, Winters got a good helmet-to-helmet shot on Charbonnet. While many thought the issue was concussion-related, as he was evaluated, he actually sustained a left knee injury while he planted his leg, causing him to go to the blue medical tent and eventually back to the locker room.
He is questionable to return.
Status alert: Zach Charbonnet (leg) headed to medical tent Saturday.
— Underdog NFL (@UnderdogNFL) January 18, 2026
Through two quarters, Charbonnet had provided a solid effort with fellow running back Kenneth Walker III to establish the rushing attack. Charbonnet had turned five carries into 20 yards while Walker had taken eight for 41 yards and a touchdown.
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Thankfully for Seattle, Walker didn’t seem to be slowed by the absence of Charbonnet, making his trip to the end zone after Charbonnet went out.
Rushing has been difficult for the Seahawks offense over the last few seasons as the offensive line has struggled. However, the unit started to see some improvement this season, and Charbonnet hit some career highs in rushing yards with 730 on 184 carries and touchdowns with 12.
Unfortunately for the Seahawks running back, he did not perform all that well in PFSN’s RB Impact Metric, ranking 36th overall in the league with an impact score of 54.8, a fair bit lower than Walker, who ranked 20th with an impact score of 65.8.
While the Seahawks wait to hear more about the third-year running back, they seemed to be moving down the field just fine without him.
