SEATTLE — Their star quarterback was struggling, their fearsome defense was leaking and their celebrated homefield advantage wasn’t offering much of an advantage.
The Seahawks still had Marshawn Lynch, though, which is why Seattle is no less confident about a trip to the Super Bowl next month than it was before Saturday’s 23-15 NFC divisional playoff victory against the Saints.
Shifting into “Beast Mode,” the famous next level where Lynch starts running over defenders or causing them to bounce off him, Lynch rescued the Seahawks with 140 hard-fought yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries on a day when the underdog Saints had refused to go away and were otherwise giving Seattle fits.
Lynch is now the 49ers’ problem after San Francisco beat the Panthers’ 23-10 on Sunday, setting up a visit to Seattle’s CenturyLink Field Sunday for the NFC Championship and a berth in Super Bowl XLVIII.
“I don’t run to get tackled,” the media-shy Lynch said in the locker room Saturday after the Seahawks (14-3) survived a 409-yard onslaught by New Orleans that didn’t stop until a forward-lateral penalty against Saints receiver Marques Colston on the final play ended the game.
Lynch didn’t say much else, and was only speaking to reporters because of the very real threat of a $100,000 fine from the NFL for what had been his season-long boycott of the league’s media policy.
But Lynch’s teammates couldn’t say enough about the former Bills rusher, whose two violent, bruise-inducing touchdown runs — including a 31-yarder with 2:40 left that ended up being the difference — had come to their aid in timely fashion.
The Seahawks would have been in big trouble without Lynch, considering they lost difference-maker Percy Harvin to a concussion early on, quarterback Russell Wilson ended up managing a career-low 103 passing yards and their top-ranked defense was unraveling in the second half against Drew Brees (309 passing yards) and the gritty Saints.
“He’s an outstanding guy, and you knew that he was going to wear them down eventually,” Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman said of Lynch. “You know he’s running hard on every play, and when he gets near 30 rushes like that, he’s going to wear you down.
“Marshawn has the ability to have a huge impact on every game,” added Sherman. “He made sure to do that [Saturday].”
It was long overdue for Lynch, too, considering he had been in a bit of a slump right along with the rest of the Seattle offense since the end of November.
Although Lynch finished with 1,247 yards (his third consecutive 1,000-yard rushing season), he had not managed to break the 100-yard mark in rushing in a single outing since Nov. 10 — a span of six games.
Lynch ended that drought in dramatic fashion Saturday, and his performance was even more remarkable because it came against the NFL’s fourth-ranked defense that also boasted one of the league’s best run-stuffing units.
Perhaps worrisomely for the Seahawks, their offense as a whole is still in the doldrums.
Seattle managed just 277 total yards against the Saints, marking the fourth time in the Seahawks’ past five games that they were unable to muster more than 300 yards. Seattle is just 3-2 in those contests after an 11-1 start.
But with Lynch as their powerful backstop, the Seahawks’ confidence isn’t lacking.
“He battles every week, and when you give him enough chances, he makes plays,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said of Lynch. “He just continues to crank it out for us, and that’s a good feeling for everybody.”