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Seahawks’ Ken Walker III celebrates birthday with epic ‘flu game’

Oct 20, 2024, 3:01 PM | Updated: 4:58 pm

Seattle Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker III...

Kenneth Walker III of the Seattle Seahawks runs with the ball during a game on Oct. 20, 2024. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

(Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III now has his own version of the Michael Jordan “flu game.”

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A day after the Seahawks downgraded their starting running back to questionable with an illness, Walker scored a pair of touchdowns to help Seattle end its three-game losing streak and beat the Atlanta Falcons 34-14 on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

And it happened on the Michigan State product’s 24th birthday.

“He was pretty sick, but he fought through it,” head coach Mike Macdonald told reporters after the game. “The guy’s a beast.”

Quarterback Geno Smith also described Walker as “sick,” but in a different way.

“Two touchdowns on his birthday, that was sick, man,” Smith said with a smile. “I thought he did a great job. Obviously he was under the weather a little bit. His flu game today on his birthday, I think that’s spectacular.”

Walker’s first touchdown came late in the first quarter with the Seahawks looking to extend an early lead. He took a handoff from the 20-yard line, bounced it to the right and burst up a hole created by rookie linemen Christian Haynes and Michael Jerrell for a score and 10-0 lead.

Walker scored again late in the third quarter when he leaked out of the backfield on a wheel route and got behind Falcons linebacker Kaden Elliss to make a leaping grab in the end zone for a 17-yard connection with Smith. That put Seattle up 24-14.

“Great catch, man,” Smith said. “That’s something we’ve been repping, we’ve been practicing that for a while. Just looking for the moment for it to happen, and it showed up today and I thought he did a great job coming down with that catch.”

Walker became just the eighth NFL player since 1966 to have touchdowns both rushing and receiving on their birthday, according to the FOX television broadcast. It was also the first time in his career that he had a touchdown rushing and receiving in the same game.

He finished the day with 69 yards on 14 carries and added 24 receiving yards on two catches.

“He was just kind of zoned in,” tight end Noah Fant said. “… You knew that he wasn’t feeling well, but you know he was going to put all of that aside and get into his own place before the game. It was kind of one of those things (where) it was like step back and let him work. It was really cool to see.”

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