Chris Clemons tore his ACL in the Seahawks’ win over the Redskins on Sunday and will miss the rest of Seattle’s playoff run. (Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

The Seattle Seahawks will be missing their top pass rusher next weekend when they take on the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Divisional Playoffs. According to multiple reports, defensive end Chris Clemons tore his ACL and meniscus in his left knee during Seattle’s 24-14 playoff win over the Washington Redskins on Sunday and will miss the rest of the season.

ESPN.com’s Ed Werder reported that Clemons will need to have surgery on the knee and will face a lengthy rehabilitation period of up to nine months.

The Seahawks had feared the worst on Clemons’ knee Sunday night, and an MRI confirmed the team’s worries.

Clemons’ injury is a huge blow to a Seattle defense that is preparing to take on the NFC’s top-seeded Atlanta Falcons and quarterback Matt Ryan.

Ryan has been sacked a career-high 28 times this season, but the Seahawks’ defensive line instantly becomes less imposing without Clemons. Clemons led the Seahawks with 11.5 sacks this season to go with 40 tackles and three forced fumbles.

With Clemons out, the focus of the Seahawks’ pass rush turns to rookie Bruce Irvin, who had eight sacks this season. He tweeted that the Seahawks will be “fine” without Clemons on Monday:

If Clem is out I think he has down enough these past 20 weeks of getting me ready for situationslike this. I will b finepeople!

— Bruce Irvin (@BIrvin_WVU11) January 7, 2013

The Seahawks fear that Chris Clemons will be out for the rest of their postseason run. (Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

The Seattle Seahawks may have lost their top pass rusher during their NFC playoff win Sunday over the Washington Redskins. They fear that defensive end Chris Clemons, who left the team’s win with a knee injury, has torn his ACL and will miss the remainder of the playoffs, according to a report on NFL.com.

Clemons left the Seahawks’ 24-14 win over the Redskins with the knee injury and did not return. His absence would be crucial next week as the Seahawks prepare to take on the NFC’s top-seeded Atlanta Falcons and quarterback Matt Ryan.

“It’s a shame,” Clemons’ agent, Donal Henderson, told NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. “He’s worked so hard to get there.”

Henderson added that the “crappy conditions” of FedEx Field were to blame for the injury.

Ryan has been sacked a career-high 28 times this season, but the Seahawks’ defensive line instantly becomes less imposing without Clemons. Clemons led the Seahawks with 11.5 sacks this season and had 40 tackles and three forced fumbles.

The Seattle Seahawks and defensive end Chris Clemons have agreed to a new multi-year contract, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reported Monday night. NFL.com’s Jason La Canfora added that the extension is for three years.

Chris Clemons contract extension with Seattle is for 3 years. The initial report of the contract was from NFL.com

— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) July 24, 2012

Earlier this offseason, NFL.com reported that Clemons had turned down a two-year, $14 million extension earlier this offseason. He also did not participate in the Seahawks’ mandatory minicamp, forfeiting $1 million in base-salary under the original terms of his contract, which he signed with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2008.