'Super Encouraging': Abraham Lucas, Seattle Seahawks' Offense Ready to Put Best Foot Forward vs. San Francisco 49ers

Finally back in the lineup after a two-plus month absence, Abraham Lucas helped Geno Smith and the Seattle Seahawks come to life on offense in a loss to the Dallas Cowboys and hopes to see that production translate to a rematch in San Francisco.

RENTON, Wash. - When Abraham Lucas exited the Seattle Seahawks season-opening loss to the Los Angeles Rams with a sore knee, the second-year tackle didn't expect he would be out very long.

After all, as he told reporters on Thursday afternoon, Lucas had dealt with knee issues during his time at Washington State and he figured after a few weeks of rest, he would be able to come back quickly. But to his dismay, things didn't improve as hoped and he wound up missing 10 games as Seattle rolled through three different replacements in the starting lineup, including 41-year old veteran Jason Peters.

In total, without Lucas available for more than two months, the Seahawks started eight different offensive line combinations in those 10 games.

“I don’t know if I was surprised, I was more disappointed," Lucas said of his lengthy absence. "Things happen. Things out of your control happen, so I just tried to roll with it as best as I could.”

Thankfully for the Seahawks, Lucas finally turned the corner enough to return to the field last week, activated in time to start against the Cowboys. And, while his team wasn't able to get back in the win column, a struggling offense woke up in a major way with No. 72 back in the lineup helping protect quarterback Geno Smith and create run lanes for Zach Charbonnet.

Aided by Lucas' return against a talented Dallas defensive front, Seattle scored touchdowns on five of its first six possessions on Thursday Night Football, hanging tough in a high scoring track meet at AT&T Stadium. Starring as the trigger man orchestrating the scoring barrage, Smith threw a trio of touchdown passes to DK Metcalf, benefiting from excellent pass protection throughout the game.

Though the Seahawks ultimately came up short in a 41-35 defeat with three missed fourth down conversion opportunities in the final quarter sealing their fate, Smith finished with 334 passing yards and wasn't sacked once, turning in one of his finest performances under center. Thanks to the combination of a well-designed quick strike passing game and improved protection, the team converted nine out of 14 third down conversions and didn't punt a single time all night.

“It was super encouraging," Lucas commented. "That’s the main goal all of the time for any offense across the league, is to show up in that way every single game. It’s just on us to continue that now and keep putting our best foot forward.”

For his part, per Pro Football Focus charting, Lucas allowed three quarterback pressures, no sacks, and no quarterback hits in his first game since September, helping keep Smith clean for most of the evening. With the quarterback unloading the ball in quick fashion from the pocket to make life easier for the offensive line, the Seahawks were able to keep Micah Parsons, Demarcus Lawrence, and a ferocious pass rush at bay until the closing moments.

Facing San Francisco three times as a rookie, Lucas turned in his best performance for Seattle in the playoffs and hopes such stellar play carries over into Sunday's rematch at Levis Stadium / © Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

In the run blocking department, Lucas delivered a pancake on a linebacker at the second level and the team averaged north of five yards per carry on nine runs behind him and rookie guard Anthony Bradford. In comparison, Seattle only rushed for 13 yards on five carries running behind Charles Cross and Damien Lewis on the left side.

Though it was far from a perfect performance after more than 10 weeks on the sidelines and the team wisely rotated Peters in with him over the course of the game, coach Pete Carroll praised Lucas for a quality return start to help ignite the Seahawks' offense, particularly in terms of physicality in the trenches.

“He looked good. He played strong football, did a nice job," Carroll said of Lucas. "He’s rusty in some stuff, totally understandable, but it’s good to have him. It felt good to have him out there pushing the piles and knocking people around. He’ll just get better. He just needed the play time.”

While Lucas declined to delve into specifics about his knee condition, the former third-round pick hinted that he's not quite 100 percent right now and still has a bit of discomfort. Calling the injury situation a "funky deal" that had been around for several years but hadn't flared up until earlier in the season, he plans to get things squared away in the offseason to ensure his knee doesn't bother him down the road.

For now, Seattle continue to proactively manage Lucas' condition, as evidenced by the fact he has been limited in practice this week. After rotating Peters in for a handful of series in Dallas last Thursday, it wouldn't be a surprise for such a strategy to be deployed for the rest of the season as part of the plan to protect the young tackle and keep him fresh.

Holding the utmost confidence in his line mates after watching them hold down the fort while he recovered from his injury, Lucas has no reservations about Peters, Stone Forsythe, or Jake Curhan stepping in to spell him if needed. Impressed by the depth the team has developed across the board, he trusts the group to get the job done regardless of who plays.

“The guys who have come in have done a really fantastic job," Lucas remarked. "You have a guy like Jason Peters who’s 41 years old and is still competing with guys my age and still showing up and doing well. Stone [Forsythe] came in and balled out, Jake [Curhan], Anthony Bradford is growing as a player. I don’t know if there was a super massive drop off necessarily, I think guys had the right attitude about it and came in and put their best foot forward.”

But after making it out of his much-anticipated return without any hitches, even if he isn't able to play every down at this point, Lucas is looking forward to doing whatever he can to help the Seahawks get back on the winning track, starting with a difficult road rematch against Nick Bosa and the 49ers on Sunday.

Last season, Lucas had mixed results against San Francisco in a trio of starts, including the wild card round in January. On one hand, he gave up a pair of sacks in a home loss in Week 15, enduring one of the toughest games of his rookie season. But in the playoff rematch, he only allowed two pressures and a sack on 41 pass pro reps, demonstrating substantial improvement against a "tenacious" pass rush.

Following a successful return last week against an equally talented defensive line, if Lucas can build off of the performance and replicate his pass protection numbers, the Seahawks will have an excellent chance to hang tight and potentially pull an upset at Levis Stadium. While knowing his work will be cut out for him, after being forced to sit out a large chunk of the season, he's eager for the challenge and hopeful the offense will pick up where they left off a week ago.

“The 49ers are a good team. They obviously have an outstanding defense; they’re coached very well. They have a few All-Pros on that side, so you know it’s going to be a battle every single game, so you just have to be ready for that.”

Seahawks Banking On Offensive Momentum Carrying Into 49ers Rematch