The Seahawks played Sunday without Geno Smith, who was inactive with a groin injury.
Smith practiced before the game, after which the Seahawks decided to rule him out for the day.
“He ran around a little bit and threw the ball, but he couldn't walk,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said of John Boyle on the team's website after the 28-16 loss to the 49ers. “He couldn’t go in one direction with confidence. If he could have, he would have played for sure. He was absolutely in the right mood and came out early this morning and did an extensive training session. He had control over many things, but he didn't. He didn't have the ability to push in one direction. This is classic for a groin injury. Under the circumstances, throwing him out just wasn't the right thing to do. He didn't cancel it. He made me call him back. He wanted to leave.”
Carroll said he doesn't know yet whether Smith will be able to return for next week's Monday night game against the Eagles. It could be another game-time decision.
“He couldn’t play today,” Carroll said. “He wanted to go out and bang it out, but the right thing to do was not play him. We just have to see how he is doing day by day and how much he comes back.”
Drew Lock made his first career start for the Seahawks and went 22 of 31 for 269 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.