The Seattle Seahawks won handily Sunday despite a veritable no-show from star running back Marshawn Lynch. Lynch, dealing with a hamstring injury, didn’t start the game and left early. In between, he ran for 14 yards on five carries and caught one pass for 9 yards. The Seahawks didn’t really miss him as they rolled over the Chicago Bears, 26-0.
Marshawn Lynch barely plays Sunday, frustating fantasy owners
The Seattle running back didn’t start the game, then left early. We break down the fantasy implications.
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With Lynch hindered, the Seahawks leaned heavily on undrafted rookie Thomas Rawls. In his first significant NFL action, Rawls carried the ball 16 times Sunday for 104 yards. Veteran Fred Jackson, ostensibly Lynch’s backup, didn’t do a lot, with two caries for 13 yards and two catches for 9.
Fantasy impact: Unless more dire news comes out over the course of the week, it’s easy to chalk up Lynch’s Sunday as a lot of precaution. After all, the Seahawks were 14.5-point favorites over the woeful Bears and they easily covered that. The Seahawks probably knew they weren’t likely to need Lynch to win Sunday, so they didn’t push him once it was clear he wasn’t at 100 percent.
For now, expect Lynch to be a full go for Week 4, unless something else comes out this week to change that. He’ll be fine. The biggest takeaway is Rawls, who looks like the primary handcuff if Lynch suffers any setbacks.
