SEATTLE — There was no boastful celebration.
There was no mugging for the camera or self-glorification.
Right after scoring his fourth touchdown Sunday to clinch a game he almost single-handedly won, Marshawn Lynch made the rounds.
To each teammate in the end zone, the Seattle Seahawks running back offered a simple, sincere handshake.
No words were necessary; just a simple action, boss.
He won’t court his own attention, but there should be no limit to the praise given to what Lynch did Sunday.
Cherish it. Play it again on the DVR. Toast it even if you’re not a Seahawks fan but simply dig hard-nosed football.
Too often, we give greatness its due in hindsight. We only laud someone’s presence once faced with their absence.
Beast Mode raged on Sunday, but it won’t last forever. We might have seen one of the last great performances by a player who has literally shaken the Seattle football scene.
The Beast Quake run in January 2011 woke football fans up to Lynch’s unique talent. That might have been his best single run, but Sunday was perhaps his best single game.
In the locker room, Seahawks safety Earl Thomas was buzzing about Lynch’s latest blunt-force masterpiece.
“It’s always going to be fresh and new,” Thomas said. “You can’t take stuff like that for granted. I don’t care what people say about him. That guy is special.”
Lynch likely won’t be back in Seattle next season. It has nothing to do with his unhappiness over the Percy Harvin trade or his discontent over his contract, which caused him to hold out this summer.
With incentives, Lynch could be owed up to $7 million next season in the last year of his four-year contract. That’s a big hit on the salary cap for a team that has already committed a bunch of money to its young stars and still needs to ink Russell Wilson to a long-term deal.
No disrespect intended. It’s a business decision.
NFL running backs have a fleeting existence. The average career lasts just 2.57 years, the shortest of any skill position in football.
Lynch has punished defenses for eight seasons. At 28, he is rapidly reaching that age that running backs see their production fall off the cliff.
At age 28, Shaun Alexander rushed for 1,880 yards and set an NFL record with 27 rushing TDs for Seattle in 2005. The next season, he had only 896 yards and seven TDs. His career was over three years later.
Lynch’s future in Seattle won’t be long, but in the here and now he has never been more important.
With Wilson, passing has never been a forte for the Seahawks. But lately it has tempted disaster. The Seahawks overcame two Wilson interceptions because their identity is built around defense and Lynch’s power running.
Seattle had its best rushing game despite playing much of it with a third-string tight end, a second-string right tackle and a fullback signed off the street two weeks ago.
“Marshawn Lynch is our engine,” receiver Doug Baldwin said. “Everything runs through him.”
That’s why Seahawks fans shouldn’t waste time fretting about Lynch’s departure, however imminent it might be. For the rest of this season, he is a major reason Seattle will be given a chance to win tough games on the road or in the playoffs.
“He’s not a man of many words, but he’s about playing physical football and having that tough mentality,” left tackle Russell Okung said. “When you see that come to fruition, this game is what you get.”
This year’s Seahawks have been a Jekyll and Hyde team. Sunday they were both — ugly for a half, then beastly once Lynch and the defense took over in the second half.
As the season enters its home stretch, the face of a beast is what the Seahawks hope appears in the mirror.
But whatever happens, each week we should appreciate what Lynch has meant and continues to mean to football in Seattle.
