"Defensive end Chris Clemons' season ended Sunday on the shoddy turf at Washington, Seattle's top pass rusher suffering a knee injury that will require surgery.

And while coach Pete Carroll on Monday didn't attribute the injury — a torn anterior-cruciate ligament and damaged meniscus — to the loose, natural-grass surface at FedEx Field, there was no denying the fact the footing was bad in Sunday's game. The impact of Clemons' injury will be even worse for Seattle.

"A big loss for us in a lot of ways," Carroll said. "Chris has been a great football player, just a symbol of consistency for the years we've had him. But he's been a great leader for us and a tough dude, and a guy we just have become very comfortable with."

The Seahawks acquired Clemons from Philadelphia via a trade in 2010, and he has excelled as a pass-rush specialist. He led Seattle with 11-<133>1/2 sacks this season, his third consecutive year with double-digit sacks. Dallas' DeMarcus Ware and Minnesota's Jared Allen are the only other NFL players with 10 or more sacks each of the past three seasons.