Marshawn Lynch Sets Career High In Receiving Yards
Dec 15, 2013; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch (24) breaks the tackle of New York Giants defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins (99) during the second half at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
The story of the Seahawks win yesterday over the New York Giants was undoubtedly the defense. Seattle’s secondary made Eli Manning look amateurish and the Giants offense amassed only 181 total yards in the shutout. New York only managed 25 yards on the ground and the Seahawks looked like a team that might be making another appearance at MetLife stadium. However, one of the storylines that went overlooked was Marshawn Lynch’s day.
In one sense Marshawn Lynch was fairly unremarkable. His 16 carries for 47 yards was not awe-inspiring by any means, although his 2 yard TD run was one of the better 2 yard runs you are going to see, and it was the perfect embodiment of everything Marshawn Lynch. What was more significant was Lynch’s 6 catches for 73 yards. It seemed like whenever Russell Wilson was in trouble he found Lynch for some positive yardage. With Sunday’s performance Lynch surpassed him previous single season career high for receiving yardage (300 yards, set in 2008 with the Bills) in a season with two games to go.
With 307 yard receiving and counting it’s not as if Lynch is the next Darren Sproles or Jamaal Charles catching passes out of the backfield, but it is significant that he’s doing a little more in that area this season. Here’s what Lynch’s production looks like on a rate basis compared to his career averages:
Time Period |
Receptions/Game
Yards/Reception
Yards/Game
2013
2.4
9.3
21.9
Career
2.0
7.7
14.9
Once again, there numbers are far from breathtaking, but they are definitely meaningful. Getting the ball in Marshawn Lynch’s hands helps the Seattle Seahawks win football games whether it’s through the air or on the ground so it’s good to see Russell Wilson dumping it off to the powerful running back. With Lynch’s tackle breaking ability he is very dangerous in the open field, even if it’s in a different way than the speed backs who traditionally are the biggest pass catchers.
Whether it’s by design or simply the fact that a struggling offensive line has forced him to check down more, Russell Wilson is passing it to Marshawn Lynch more than ever in 2013. Lynch is making things happen with the ball in his hands and making his game even more complete this season. If the Seahawks are going to go anywhere in the playoffs then Marshawn Lynch and Russell Wilson are going to need to be productive. It only makes sense that they would be getting more of their productivity directly from each other.