RENTON, Wash. -- Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said Sam Darnold "continues to get better" but that the quarterback's throwing will be limited this week as he manages his oblique injury ahead of the NFC Championship Game Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams.
"He's not going to be a full-go the whole week, so we have a plan; we're going to work through it, see how the day goes and then we'll kind of take it day by day and take it to tomorrow," Macdonald said Wednesday. "But he won't be throwing every ball every play for the whole week, no."
The Seahawks listed Darnold as a limited participant Wednesday. Their first injury report of the week also listed their top three left tackles -- Charles Cross, Josh Jones and Amari Kight -- as non-participants.
Darnold suffered the injury to his left oblique in practice last Thursday and played through it Saturday against the San Francisco 49ers, completing 12 of 17 attempts for 124 yards, a touchdown and zero turnovers. He was pulled with over nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter with the top-seeded Seahawks on their way to a 41-6 win in the divisional round.
Darnold said Wednesday he "felt good" a day after that game and that he was "feeling really good" three days later as the Seahawks began preparations to host the Rams in their third meeting of the season against their NFC West rivals.
"Just attacking rehab these last couple days," he said. "Obviously will be throughout the week ... I've just got to continue to prepare and get my body right for Sunday."
Cross -- Seattle's starting left tackle who just signed a four-year, $104.4 million extension - left in the third quarter Saturday with a foot injury. He missed the final three regular-season games with a hamstring injury and also hurt his knee in practice leading up to the divisional-round game against the 49ers.
Seattle's Wednesday injury report only listed Cross' foot as the reason he didn't practice. Jones missed the 49ers game because of knee and ankle injuries he played through in Week 18 while filling in for Cross. Kight, an undrafted rookie, replaced Cross on Saturday but is now listed as having a knee injury.
Logan Brown, another undrafted rookie, is Seattle's No. 4 left tackle.
Macdonald announced Monday that the Seahawks will be without Zach Charbonnet for the remainder of their playoff run after the third-year running back suffered a significant knee injury against the 49ers. Charbonnet, one half of Seattle's two-headed rushing attack along with Ken Walker III, will need surgery.
The Seahawks on Wednesday designated George Holani to return to practice. He began the season as Seattle's third running back but has been on injured reserve since hurting his hamstring in Week 12.
Seattle's other backup tailbacks are Velus Jones Jr. and former Ram Cam Akers, who won Super Bowl LVI with Los Angeles.
Holani was a full participant Wednesday. Macdonald answered in the affirmative when asked if it's realistic that he could play Sunday.
"Yeah, George is in great shape," he said. "Working his tail off. Excited to get him out there. Haven't seen him practice in a minute, so it'll be fun."
The Seahawks are 2.5-point favorites in the NFC Championship Game.
They lost the first meeting 21-19 at SoFi Stadium in November, missing a 61-yard field goal that would have won the game despite four Darnold interceptions. The Seahawks came from behind to beat Los Angeles 38-37 in an overtime thriller at Lumen Field in Week 16, as Darnold shook off two more interceptions to help rally Seattle from a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter.
"Really good team, really good defense, really good scheme," Darnold said. "Good players. So like always, we're really excited about this opportunity to play these guys. We've just got to have a really good week of practice. For me, I've got to continue to attack all the things that I need to attack, just get ready to play these guys, but also just getting my body right to be ready for Sunday."
