DETROIT (Feb. 5, 2006) -- The Seattle Seahawks lost their second defensive starter to injury during the Super Bowl when defensive tackle Rocky Bernard pulled his right hamstring in the third quarter.
The team said his return was doubtful.
Bernard, the team leader in sacks for the club that led the NFL in that category this season, was running ahead of Kelly Herndon on the defensive back's Super Bowl-record 76-yard interception return. Bernard slowed and grabbed the back of his right leg near the end of the play, which got Seattle back in the game after it trailed Pittsburgh 14-3.
Earlier, defensive back Marquand Manuel left with a hip injury. That left former practice-squad player Etric Pruitt as Seattle's free safety for the final 2½ quarters.
Manuel got hurt while tackling Pittsburgh's Hines Ward on an 18-yard, end-around run early in the second quarter. Manuel appeared to get tangled up with equipment beyond the sideline boundary at the end of his tackle.
Pruitt, in his second season from Southern Mississippi, was signed to the active roster Nov. 4. He played in 11 career games before this contest.
Pruitt took a poor angle toward the ball carrier on Willie Parker's Super Bowl-record 75-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter and couldn't get close to making a tackle as the Pittsburgh running back raced by.
Manuel has started since Oct. 17, when starting safety Ken Hamlin was lost for the season because of head injuries sustained during a fight outside a Seattle nightclub.
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