The NBC broadcast later showed Smith going to the locker room for further evaluation. He eventually returned to the sidelines and was seen on the bench with a bandage wrapped around his right knee.

Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald told reporters after the loss that Smith’s knee appeared to be structurally sound, but the extent of the injury was unclear. Smith will undergo further evaluation on Monday.

“I’ll tell you one thing: This guy is probably the toughest player I’ve ever been around,” Macdonald said of Smith. “(It was) serious enough that he didn’t get back into the game. We’ll do all the testing tomorrow and kind of figure it out as we go along. At the moment structurally it looks like it’s fine. We’re going to get him.” pictured and all that stuff.

Smith was 15 of 19 for 149 yards and a costly interception in the red zone at the time of the injury.

Macdonald said Smith originally wanted to return to the game, but it soon became clear that “he just couldn’t go.”

Sunday’s loss moves Seattle to 8-6 this season and tied for first place with the surging Los Angeles Rams at the top of the NFC West. Smith’s health will be crucial to the Seahawks’ playoff chances, which fell to 37 percent after Sunday, according to Next Gen Stats.

The schedule doesn’t do the Hawks any favors if they focus on keeping Howell, who struggled in relief on Sunday, in the starting lineup for an extended period of time. Seattle hosts the playoff-bound Minnesota Vikings in Week 16 before a potentially must-win game against the Rams in the regular season finale in Los Angeles.

“We need to do the testing,” Macdonald said when asked about a possible timeline for Smith. “I know we will do everything humanly possible to go play, but I just don’t know right now.”