Before being drafted into the National Football League in 2007 by the Buffalo Bills, running back Marshawn Lynch enjoyed a stellar college career at the University of California-Berkley. During his collegiate career Lynch was a first-team All-American along with being named as the Pac-10 Conference’s Offensive Player of the Year in 2006. After gaining 3,230 rushing yards in three years at California, Lynch declared for the NFL Draft where the Bills used the 12th overall pick in 2007 on him.
In Lynch’s first season with the Bills he gained 1,115 rushing yards to go along with 7 rushing touchdowns. In 2008, Lynch gained 1,036 yards on the ground and he was selected to the AFC’s Pro Bowl team. After that, injuries and off-the-field issues took their toll on Lynch as during the 2010 NFL season the Bills traded him to the Seattle Seahawks. New Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll was looking for someone to be his feature back and he was familiar with Lynch from Carroll’s time as the head football coach at the University of Southern California which is another Pac-12 Conference school.
In 12 games with the Seahawks in 2010, Lynch only gained 573 yards, but he made his biggest impact that season in the playoffs for Seattle. With a record of 7-9, the Seahawks became the first sub-.500 team to host a playoff game as they were the champions of the NFC West. The Seahawks hosted the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Wild Card Game. The Saints rolled into Seattle as the defending Super Bowl Champions and they were favored to win by 11 points over the seemingly over matched Seahawks. The Saints jumped out to an early 10-0 lead before the Seahawks rallied to take a 24-20 advantage into halftime. Then in the fourth quarter Lynch made his presence felt. With the game hanging in the balance Lynch exploded for a 67-yard touchdown run, but in the process he had Saints defenders bouncing off of him like dandruff as his powerful running and the roar of the crowd at Century Link Field appeared to cause a small quake in the Pacific Northwest. The Seahawks would go on to defeat the Saints 41-36 and thus “Beast Mode” was born.
Since that time Lynch has gone on to become one of the fiercest and toughest runners that the NFL has ever seen as he is nearly impossible for one defender to bring down. Since 2011, Lynch has become a stalwart at the Pro Bowl as he has gone over the 1,000-yard mark in the last three seasons.
This season Lynch ran for 1,257 yards while his 12 rushing touchdowns led the NFL. The Seahawks 13-3 record this past regular season was tops in the NFC and thus they earned the top seed in the conference for the NFL Playoffs.
Lynch has saved his best efforts for when the chips were pushed to the middle of the table for the Seahawks. The Seahawks passing game has been a little sluggish and Carroll has relied on his rugged running back this postseason more than ever. The Seahawks hosted the Saints in the NFC Divisional Playoffs and Lynch exploded for 140 rushing yards and a pair of rushing touchdowns as Seattle defeated New Orleans 23-15. This past Sunday the Seahawks hosted their key NFC West rival in the San Francisco 49ers for the NFC Championship Game. The Niners took a 10-3 lead to the dressing room at halftime before Lynch exploded for a 40-yard rushing touchdown early in the third quarter to knot the score at 10. The Seahawks would go on to defeat the Niners 23-17 and advance to their second Super Bowl in franchise history. For the game Lynch accounted for 109 rushing touchdowns, one touchdown, and countless Skittles that were thrown around Century Link Field by the Seahawk fanatics.
The compensation that the Bills received for Lynch was a pair of fifth-round picks in the NFL Draft which appears to be a drop in the bucket now. The trade to the Seahawks woke Lynch up as well. Lynch is a native of Oakland, California and he is happy to be back on the West Coast. It doesn’t hurt Lynch that Carroll has built the Seahawks in the same fashion that he built USC’s football program from 2001-2009. The past two seasons have seen the Seahawks boast a top five rushing attack in the NFL with Lynch leading the way. For Lynch, “Beast Mode” is a way of life as he can inflict pain.
Lynch has been a big part of the Seahawks winning the NFC Championship and in a matter of days he will have the opportunity to play on the NFL’s biggest stage in the Super Bowl. If the Seahawks are able to defeat the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 48 it is more than likely due to the fact that Lynch was a big part of it. This is a far cry from a player that was once an afterthought when the Bills traded him. Along with the possibility of snowflakes floating around MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey for the Super Bowl, we can also see Skittles raining down in honor of Lynch and he would fully deserve it.
Source: Pro-football-reference.com
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