Lynch powers to prominence in NFL return
Late in the fourth quarter of the Raiders’ season-opening win against the Titans on Sunday, Marshawn Lynch provided a signature moment when he bowled over 305-pound defensive tackle Jurrell Casey on a second-down run.
Wide receiver Amari Cooper said the play got “everybody hype” on the sideline.
Cornerback David Amerson called it typical Beast Mode. Head coach Jack Del Rio had a different view. “Probably gets the offensive linemen more excited than anything, but for me, I’d like to see that guy be blocked in the first place,” Del Rio said Monday. “I’m glad Marshawn was able to lower his pads and make it a positive run for us. He brings a certain mentality. He brings a certain toughness. We saw glimpses of that.”
On a day in which Oakland’s offense piled up 359 yards and got two touchdown passes from quarterback Derek Carr in his first regular-season game since suffering a broken leg in December, Lynch’s run, which sent Casey tumbling backward and helped set up Georgio Tavecchio’s fourth field goal, stood out for multiple reasons.
It continued a series of punishing runs by Lynch, who finished with a team-high 76 yards on 18 carries in his physical and triumphant return to the NFL after sitting out 2016 in retirement. On more than one play, the Titans appeared to have the Oakland native stopped in the backfield, but they dropped him for a loss only once. Every other time, Lynch powered his way through would-be tacklers and gained additional yardage.
More important, the Raiders were able to milk the clock in the fourth quarter behind Lynch’s running and a big day from Oakland’s offensive line.
“We got to see that Marshawn is Marshawn,” Carr said after the game. “He’s running through people, and he’s going to make it a pain on them to tackle him. You got to earn it if you’re going to tackle him.”
As successful as Lynch and the Raiders were running the ball late in the game, Del Rio believes it was just the beginning for his group.
“It was good, not great,” Del Rio said. “There are things to correct and do better as we go forward. There were definitely some bright spots, and having him in there with his physicality behind our offensive line, that’s a good way to get after people to close it.
“Now, we’re not looking for Marshawn to carry us or carry our team. We’re looking for us to be a team, and he’s a piece of it and he’s a part of it. That’s really the way we operate, but certainly it was nice to see that he brings that hammer at the end of a ballgame, the ability to close out.”
Lynch carried six times for 18 yards on Oakland’s final drive. The only time the Titans stopped him came on the Raiders’ last play, when Tennessee swarmed Lynch for a 2-yard loss. That set the stage for Tavecchio to put a cap on his spectacular NFL debut.
“At the end of the game, in the fourth quarter when you need to get down the field, give it to Beast Mode,” Amerson said. “That’s what he did — got us down the field. He did exactly what we thought he would do: put points on the board, and now our defense can go into prevent defense.”