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Russell Wilson replaced by Geno Smith after gruesome finger injury from Aaron Donald collision

Russell Wilson’s middle finger was dislocated on a weird play with Los Angeles Rams star Aaron Donald on Thursday night.

While the Seattle Seahawks quarterback returned to the game briefly, Wilson was sidelined in favor of backup Geno Smith in the fourth quarter of a 26-17 loss. His finger injury could be something that lingers for weeks.

Wilson was trying to throw a pass in the third quarter of their “Thursday Night Football” matchup with the Rams, and just barely got the pass off before Donald’s swinging right hand could block it.

Yet that came at a cost, as Wilson’s throwing hand collided directly with Donald’s — which sent his middle finger bending back wildly.

The images right after did not look good. At all.

Wilson spent the entire next drive from the Rams — who quickly marched 82 yards and took a 16-7 lead on a Tyler Higbee touchdown — trying to pop his finger back into place and get it taped up.

He returned to the field for the Seahawks' next drive, but missed one pass and was sacked on third down before they had to punt it away.

Quarterback Geno Smith of the Seattle Seahawks
Geno Smith nearly led the Seahawks to a wild comeback win on Thursday night. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

Geno Smith's near comeback falls short

Smith entered the game to start the fourth quarter in place of Wilson, who was clearly struggling with his throwing hand.

The move turned out to be a good one.

Smith — who hadn’t taken a snap all season — quickly marched downfield and put the Seahawks back within two points after connecting with D.K. Metcalf for a 23-yard touchdown. Smith went a perfect 5-of-5 for 72 yards on the drive.

The Seahawks defense gave him one final shot to mount a game-winning drive with just more than two minutes left, but Smith threw an interception on the first play, sealing the Rams' win.

Smith ended the night 10 of 16 for 131 yards in his fourth-quarter run.

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said that Wilson was taken out of the game because he just couldn’t hold the football. He said that it’s like “a badly sprained finger,” but that they need further evaluation to determine how severe it is, via CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones.

It's unclear how severe Wilson's finger injury is, but leaving the game in a crucial division matchup likely means it's significant.