Bryan Bulaga (75), being helped off the field in Seattle, suffered just a knee sprain, and wants to be back at practice by Wednesday. Credit: Rick Wood

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Green Bay — Bad didn't turn to worse for the Green Bay Packers one day after their 36-16 drubbing in Seattle. Neither of the team's two starters injured Thursday night — right tackle Bryan Bulaga and running back Eddie Lacy — should be out for an extended amount of time.

Lacy has cleared the first step of his concussion protocol, while Bulaga is hoping to practice Wednesday. The fifth-year tackle suffered a sprain to his medial collateral ligament in his left knee, ESPN reported. For Bulaga, it's the same knee that required surgery from a torn ACL suffered last summer.

Bulaga wants to return quickly but the Packers medical staff is trying be cautious.

"We have a little bit of a gap between how Bryan feels and how the medical department feels about him, which is normal," coach Mike McCarthy said. "I think really Wednesday's practice will probably give us a better indication. I know Bryan would like to try to go on Wednesday, but we have to continue to see how his knee reacts between now and then.

"Once again, it's not a major injury. We're relieved by that."

McCarthy wasn't sure if the knee brace saved Bulaga from further damage or not. If the 6-foot-5, 315-pounder is forced to miss time, don't expect to the Packers to scramble for a replacement starter off the street. McCarthy made it clear that, despite allowing two sacks in Seattle, Derek Sherrod would be the first man in at right tackle for Bulaga.

"I think Derek will play better than he did this week," McCarthy said. "Really, there's some things that we weren't totally in tune with."

On Cliff Avril's fourth-and-5 sack against Sherrod, McCarthy cited a botched protection call. On the second sack, which turned out to be a nail-in-the-coffin safety, McCarthy said the Packers were stuck in an "uphill" situation.

Either way, they're willing to give the former first-round pick a shot again if needed.

Lacy suffered his concussion toward the end of Thursday's loss, possibly on a heavyweight collision with safety Kam Chancellor at the tail end of his 12-yard catch and run.

It's the second concussion of Lacy's young career. He missed a game last year after a head-to-head shot from Washington's Brandon Meriweather.

McCarthy didn't say when Lacy would be ready to practice. Possibly, the extended week might give him a shot against the New York Jets.

Still, this is a bruising running back who doesn't go down easy. Asked if he has any concern about these concussions starting to add up, McCarthy cited the conservative nature of the Packers' medical staff.

Also, to return Lacy must be cleared by an independent neurologist.

"Well, the biggest thing of any medical situation, particularly Eddie Lacy," McCarthy said, "we were always going to go through the process. I think it's been clearly stated that we don't take unnecessary risk for the players. We'll just trust our medical staff."

Outside of his early 15-yard run, Lacy managed only 19 yards on 11 attempts. If he does miss time, James Starks (37 yards on seven carries) would be the Packers' top back. Though DuJuan Harris got a carry at the end of the game, McCarthy said Starks is OK health-wise.

Shermanator: Quarterback Aaron Rodgers didn't throw to Richard Sherman's side once in Green Bay's loss to the Seahawks.

Sherman pitched a shutout across the board — 0 targets, 0 receptions, 0 yards. The Seahawks cornerback is used to this treatment, if not quite this extreme.

McCarthy said this all wasn't a premeditated decision. The Packers wanted to line up Jordy Nelson on the left side of the field to see if Sherman would follow him. He didn't. And the Seahawks' plan worked.

Rodgers passed for less than 200 yards for only the third time since 2010 and averaged only 5.7 yards per pass attempt.

"I don't think you ever make a conscious decision not to throw to one side of the field," McCarthy said. "Frankly, it was more of a decision to put Jordy on the left and see if he would come over and play him. They played their defense and obviously they did a heck of a job. I'm sure they feel good about where they are today.

"So, it's just no-huddle, frankly it's easier for the receivers to stay to one side of the field than the other as far as what we were doing. Our plan was to run our stuff, line up as quick as we can. We had some communication challenges. I thought Aaron did a very good job working through that. It's more about what we're doing."

And through that plan, Rodgers targeted Nelson 14 times on his 33 pass attempts.

Meanwhile, Jarrett Boykin was one lonely receiver.

No worries: Fans may be ready to hand out pink slips, but McCarthy said the Packers aren't panicking. As gruesome as the loss to the Seahawks was — particularly through the third-quarter implosion — McCarthy said players "will have the right perspective."

"This is not a one-game season," he said. "Every NFL season is such a journey. This is just really the beginning of it. We did not take the first step clearly that we wanted to take, but we've got the next opportunity. We're not going to sit here and dwell on it.

"We're not making crazy changes. We don't feel that's the right answer."

At center: Whereas Sherrod was overwhelmed, the run defense caved and the MVP quarterback was outperformed by Russell Wilson, the one concern directed by outsiders at the Packers before Thursday wasn't much of a concern.

Rookie Corey Linsley mostly held his own against Brandon Mebane and the Seattle defensive line. This night, he was the least of the Packers' problems.

"I thought he stepped up to the plate," McCarthy said. "It's obviously a tough assignment for the first time out as a professional. I thought he did a good job."