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Three-time Pro Bowl quarterback Matt Hasselbeck played in the NFL for 18 seasons and was no stranger to playing through injuries.
Both of the quarterbacks in the Super Bowl are listed on the injury report. Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold is listed with an oblique injury, something he has played through for the last two weeks, while New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is listed with a right shoulder injury.
Hasselbeck said he had Darnold’s injury and said it is not painful.
“It’s not a painful injury. You know, I’ve had the injury. It’s not a painful injury. It’s just a little bit more like the muscle that needs to fire quickly, doesn’t work necessarily. But from my experience, it gets better as the game goes on. Sam’s played with it for a couple weeks now, and he’s looked pretty good, you know, a little measured but pretty good,” Hasselbeck told Fox News Digital in a recent interview with the Family Heart Foundation.
Darnold has played well in both of his playoff appearances. In the Seahawks’ 41-6 blowout win over the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Divisional Round, he completed 12 of 17 passes for 124 yards and one touchdown.
Against the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game, Darnold had one of the best games of his career in what was the biggest game of his career. The former USC star completed 25 of 36 passes for 346 yards and three touchdowns in the Seahawks’ thrilling 31-27 win.
Hasselbeck said Maye’s shoulder injury might be tougher to deal with than Darnold’s oblique.
“I think the Patriots listed Drake Maye with a shoulder injury from this last game. That’s a little bit tougher, too, because it’s not so again, it’s not so much the pain of it. It’s just it’s feeling like you have your fastball, so to speak. But that’s the NFL. Like, this isn’t baseball where you’re on a pitcher’s mound. Part of your job is to be a thrower with people trying to tackle you and throw you to the ground and hit you,” Hasselbeck said.
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Maye sustained the shoulder injury during the Patriots’ 10-7 win over the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game. The 23-year-old appeared to have been injured in the third quarter when he got hit on a scramble and immediately grabbed his right shoulder.
Maye, who was fantastic in the regular season, has not seen the same success in the playoffs, despite making the Super Bowl.
In the regular season, the 23-year-old completed 72% of his passes for 4,394 yards with 31 touchdowns and eight interceptions, along with 421 rushing yards and two touchdowns. In the playoffs, Maye has not been as effective through the air, completing 55.8% of his passes for 533 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions while getting sacked 15 times.
However, Maye has been dynamic with his legs, rushing for 141 yards and one touchdown, the lone one the Patriots scored in the AFC Championship, in three games.
The Patriots will need Maye to be at his best in the Super Bowl, as the Seahawks’ defense was the best in the NFL this season, allowing just 17.1 points per game.
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Hasselbeck said that both quarterbacks, with the combination of an extra week of rest and modern medicine, should be good to go for the big game.
Hasselbeck played for four different teams in his 18-year career: 10 seasons with the Seahawks, three with the Indianapolis Colts, two with the Green Bay Packers and two with the Tennessee Titans. In 209 games, he completed 60.5% of his passes for 36,638 yards with 212 touchdowns and 153 interceptions.
The Seahawks play the Patriots in the Super Bowl on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET.
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