Seahawks’ Jeremy Lane emotional after up-and-down return from gruesome injury

Jeremy Lane didn’t have the greatest game of his career Sunday, but said it still ranks in his top three most memorable. In fact, the only thing he was truly kicking himself about in the locker room was that he didn’t keep the football he intercepted in the Seahawks’ 39-30 win over Pittsburgh.

“I’m really upset about that,” he said. “I gotta go find that football. Hopefully someone got it for me.”

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Lane had an inconsistent if not spectacular first game back from the devastating injuries he suffered during a first-quarter Super Bowl interception that resulted in both a torn ACL and compound wrist fracture. After being sidelined for nine months, Lane didn’t expect the full load of reps that he ultimate received. And 15 minutes in, he was already battling soreness in his groin, arm, knee and right hamstring.

“I asked the Lord to be with me because I was hurting after like the first quarter,” he said. “I really didn’t know how I was going to make it through, but He made a way for me.”

His finest play of the day was an interception of a Landry Jones pass on an ill-advised fake field goal intended for an offensive lineman in the first quarter. Lane wasn’t expecting a fake, but heard a coach call out from the sideline that the backup quarterback was in the game. He jumped the route in the flat and returned it 54 yards before his body gave out.

“My legs just died and I fell,” he said. “It was something I ain’t never experienced before, so that was new to me.”

He acknowledged some flashbacks to his fateful Super Bowl injury. Any other day, he said, would have ended with a score.

“If this wasn’t my first game back, I was going to for sure crib that,” he said. “Touchdown, pick-six. No doubt in my mind.”

The rest of the game was less sterling, with Lane picked on at times by Pittsburgh’s constant, deep-throwing attack. Lane was burned on a long touchdown pass and missed a critical third-down tackle midway through the fourth-quarter that could have led to a go-ahead score, though the defense ultimately stiffened.

Nonetheless, Lane said he was pleased with his overall performance.

“There’s always room for improvement, but I think I did pretty good to be my first game back and get thrown in the fire like that,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting to play that much, but obviously did, so it’s all good. I think I held my own for the most part.”

Safety Earl Thomas, backed his fourth-year teammate, commending Lane’s feistiness and competitiveness in the slot.

“The man is coming off an ACL injury, a broken elbow, so it’s easy to say that he had an OK game,” he said. “The dude balled out … This game is not all about picture-perfect football all the time. When you’re playing a great quarterback like that, and he understands matchups and concepts, that’s all you can ask for.”

Lane said he felt emotional coming out of the tunnel and that he was surprised he didn’t cry. He expects the reality of his comeback to kick in sooner than later.

“I’ll probably get emotional about it when I go home and just really look over it and it hit me that I made it through healthy my first game back,” he said. “So, a big stepping stone for me.”