Earl Thomas missed his 1st NFL game, and watched it at a Buffalo Wild Wings

Earl Thomas is in the seventh season of his NFL career, and the only game he’s missed so far was the Seattle Seahawks’ Week 12 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Thomas watched the game incognito at a Buffalo Wild Wings in Portland, Oregon.

Thomas, who was in Portland with his family to watch the Trail Blazers play, said it was difficult to miss the game.

“It was definitely hard,” he said, via the News Tribune’s Gregg Bell. “Luckily, I had my wife and my daughter there with me. It was definitely a tough time. Very emotional. But I went to Portland with my family. I kind of kept my competitive spirit going by going to the Trail Blazers game.”

Thomas suffered a hamstring strain in Week 11 against the Philadelphia Eagles and was ruled out for the Buccaneers game. He did not travel with the team, but he did support his teammates from afar. The Seahawks fell to the Buccaneers, 14-5, so Thomas may not have enjoyed the game itself, but he might have at least enjoyed some wings and beer.

When Thomas missed Sunday’s game, it snapped his streak of 106 consecutive regular season starts. Including the postseason, Thomas had started 118 straight games.

It was difficult for Thomas to miss one.

“It was just, you know, trying to find a way to keep my mind positive,” Thomas said. “I knew I would try to make it back for this week. I’m just happy to be back out there. It was just ... it was just weird for me to see the team out there without me.”

According to head coach Pete Carroll, Thomas is day-to-day, but was “going to work” on Thursday and had returned to practice, and it’s possible he’ll be ready to go this week when Seattle faces the Carolina Panthers. Last Sunday’s loss to the Bucs may be the last Seahawks game Thomas gets to watch at a Buffalo Wild Wings.