Beast Mode makes his Seattle return
Watt practices for Houston, could be back for the playoffs
RENTON, Wash. — When Marshawn Lynch played his last game for Seattle in January 2016, a playoff loss to Carolina, the idea of him ever wearing a Seahawks uniform again seemed preposterous.
Yet here was Lynch on Tuesday going through his first practice with Seattle in nearly four years, and potentially tasked with playing a major role on Sunday against San Francisco with the NFC West title on the line.
When it comes to NFL reunions, this is as unlikely as it gets. Not just Lynch back on a football field after more than a year away, but back in Seattle.
“What I needed to hear from him is where his heart is. Is he in it and does he want to go for it, which he totally does,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said. “He’s worked to prove that. I don’t doubt him one bit about that. He’s very sincere about how he presents himself to this game and it’s very important to him to be at his best and do well, and he’s going to do everything he can to make that happen.”
The arrival of Lynch was a spark of energy
inside a Seattle locker room that was left reeling after Sunday’s 27-13 loss to Arizona. Not only were the Seahawks run over by the Cardinals, they lost their most direct path to the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs and their top two running backs to injury.
Lynch may end up being great in Seattle’s backfield. He may end up looking like a 33-year-old who hasn’t played in more than a year. But the idea of “Beast Mode” carrying the ball once again in a Seattle uniform galvanized not only the fan base, but a locker room of players who mostly haven’t had Lynch as a teammate.
STAR WATTAGE: J.J. Watt returned to practice with the Houston Texans on Tuesday, clearing the way for the star defensive end to play in the team’s playoff game in two weeks.
Watt has been out since Oct. 27 after tearing a pectoral muscle, an injury which required surgery.
“I feel really good,” Watt said. “We’ve worked extremely hard at rehab. We’ve had a very smooth process and everything’s been going extremely well. So I’m really, really excited to be back on the field with everybody and to get back out there helping my team and playing for this city.”
The Texans will have 21 days from Tuesday to take him off the injured reserve and add him to the active roster. If they plan to play him in their first playoff game during the weekend of Jan. 4-5, they’ll have to activate him by 2 p.m. MT the day before the game.
Watt has been working out with the team’s trainers and medical staff away for a while and said he’s felt good during those workouts. He said he’s been wearing a harness during those workouts and that he’ll continue to wear that to protect himself during team practices. The harness keeps his arm from being pulled too far backward, but it will not restrict him from moving his arm forward or raising it up.
BUCCANEERS: If Tampa Bay QB Jameis Winston had cut down his turnovers, the Buccaneers likely would be getting ready for the playoffs.
The Bucs (7-8) are 3-5 in one-score games as Winston’s interceptions continue to plague the team. The Bucs had a chance to beat Houston, but the last-ditch drive ended in another interception. It was Winston’s NFL-leading 28th interception of the season as the Bucs’ four-game winning streak was snapped in the 23-20 loss to the Texans on Saturday.
Winston has completed 367 of 602 passes for a league-leading 4,908 yards and a second-best 31 touchdowns, but his passer rating of 84.6 ranks 50th in the NFL. His 28 interceptions thrown are 10 more than anyone else in the league has thrown.
RAIDERS: Of the many things that must fall their way in order for Oakland to get into the playoffs, Derek Carr snapping his cold-weather drought is one of the most significant.
Carr is winless in his past nine games when the temperature at kickoff is below 50 degrees, including earlier this season when the Raiders were thumped in back-to-back games at the Jets and Kansas City.
Oakland is expected to face similar weather Sunday in Denver where the temperature is projected to top out at 44 degrees.
49ERS: Sunday’s game against the Seahawks in Seattle will be the biggest test of Jimmy Garoppolo’s career.
Granted, the San Francisco quarterback hasn’t had many tests yet — he has started only 25 games. And he has passed most of the tests opponents have presented him — his record is 20-5.
But Garoppolo hasn’t started a game at Seattle’s CenturyLink Field, one of the loudest, gloomiest, most difficult places for opponents to play in the NFL, particularly for inexperienced quarterbacks. Since 2010, QBs with 25 or fewer career starts have won just six of 28 games in Seattle.
If the 49ers lose on Sunday, they’ll be a wild-card team and start their quest for the Super Bowl on the road. But if they win Sunday, they will earn the No. 1 seed in the NFC and a first-round bye.
“They’ve had as good of a 10-year run defensively as probably anyone in the history of football,” 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said of the Seahawks. “Then you add in the elements of their stadium, where you can’t hear. When you can’t use cadence and you’re going up against a very skilled team with a pass rush, it’s extremely hard.”
Cadence is a quarterback’s snap count. Garoppolo won’t be able to verbally communicate on the field in Seattle, so the 49ers will have to use a silent count, which the Seahawks’ pass rushers can time and anticipate. Advantage: Seattle.
RAVENS: Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson is the gift that keeps on giving. Members of the offensive line walked into the team’s locker room Tuesday morning to find their star quarterback bearing gifts for them: brand-new Rolex watches.
Behind the Ravens offensive line this season, Jackson has thrown a league-high 36 touchdowns and rushed for 1,206 yards, sixth in the NFL.
RAMS: Los Angeles cornerback Jalen Ramsey (knee) will not play in the season finale against Arizona on Sunday.