Side-ring EXTRA · Damo be-nafsho — blood represents the life
Torah Temimah cross-references only the kisui derasha of 17:13. On 17:14 itself Rashi and the classical sources expound the identity (or intimate connection) of blood and nefesh.
English: “Its blood is in its soul” — its blood stands in place of the soul, because the life depends upon it.
Blood as the seat of life
The prohibition of eating blood rests on the fact that the nefesh of the animal is bound up with its blood. Consuming blood is therefore consuming the life-force itself.