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A few weeks ago, the Seattle Seahawks were sitting pretty in the NFC. They were coming off of a thrilling victory over the San Francisco 49ers and were on a tear in general and had a great shot of locking down a first-round bye.
However, their plans were derailed after a couple of puzzling losses to the Los Angeles Rams and Arizona Cardinals. In the regular-season finale, the 49ers ended their NFC West dreams.
Now, the Seahawks will have to head on the road to take on a banged-up — but red-hot — Philadelphia Eagles team in the Wild Card Round and they aren't exactly in a great spot health-wise.
Most notably, Seattle is without running backs Chris Carson and Rashaad Penny, both of whom suffered late-season injuries to devastate the Seahawks' renowned rushing attack.
The injuries to both players resulted in Seattle having to turn back to an old friend, as the Seahawks signed Pacific Northwest legend Marshawn Lynch out of retirement ahead of Week 17.
Lynch played in Seattle's loss to San Francisco, carrying the ball 12 times for 34 yards and a touchdown.
The Seahawks are relying on Lynch for a much more efficient performance when they battle the Eagles on Sunday.
While Russell Wilson has been brilliant all year and Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf have comprised a lethal receiving duo, Lynch is the X-factor for Seattle against Philadelphia.
Against an Eagles club that is riddled with injuries up and down the roster, a balanced offensive attack for the Seahawks would almost surely spell the end of Philly's run, which is where Lynch comes in.
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We know that Wilson will probably do his thing against what has been a miserable Eagles secondary. But what if Lynch could puncture a solid Philly run defense? It would be the icing on the cake, and it's hard to imagine that the Eagles would have much of an answer if the Seahawks were able to rack up a lot of points.
Given that Lynch is 33 years old and just played his first real football in a year, he doesn't appear to be much of a threat on the surface. This is not the same Beast Mode from Seattle's Super Bowl years. This is a much older, less explosive version.
For that reason, the Eagles will undoubtedly be focusing more on the pass, which could open up Lynch for some significant gains. And if Lynch does that? Then Philadelphia will have to play closer to the box, which would then free up Lockett, Metcalf and Co.
I'm not sure how much we can expect out of Lynch, but he appears to be in great shape, and if he can deliver with a big performance this weekend, the Eagles probably won't stand much of a chance. Not with the Seahawks also boasting one of the NFL's most dangerous aerial attacks.
Expect Seattle to try and establish Lynch early on against Philly. The Seahawks don't have a whole lot to fear from the Eagles' offense, so they can afford to try and feed Lynch in the first quarter.
And wouldn't it just be appropriate to see Lynch lead Seattle to a playoff win?
