The Seattle Seahawks have ruled out running back Marshawn Lynch for Sunday's wild card game against the Minnesota Vikings, according to the Seahawks' team website. Lynch felt like he could not have played Sunday following Friday's practice and did not travel with the team to Minneapolis on Friday.
Lynch had missed the seven previous games with an abdominal injury that required surgery, and the decision to not play the star running back comes as a shock to many Seahawks fans. Earlier in the week, Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said that Lynch looked "really good in practice," according to KIRO 93.7 in Seattle. "He's practiced as hard as he ever has throughout the week just to prove to himself that he's right I think as well as everybody else. So he's ready to go and we're anxious to see him fit in."
The Seahawks will have to face the Vikings' stingy defense without Lynch, but he reportedly hopes that he can play in the divisional round. The Seahawks finished the season strong with a dominant win over NFC West rival the Arizona Cardinals, and running back Christine Michael moved himself into great position for carries Sunday following last week's performance.
Michael rushed for 102 yards on 17 carries, and expect head coach Pete Carroll to feed the hot hand Sunday in Minnesota. Running backs Bryce Brown and Fred Jackson will also try to make their presence felt on Sunday, and there could be a heavy dose of the run game from both teams, as it's expected to be in freezing temperatures for this wild card matchup.
Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson is having arguably his best season since being drafted by Seattle in 2012. The Seahawks franchise quarterback has thrown for a career-high 4,024 yards with 34 touchdowns to eight interceptions. The weather will clearly be a factor in Sunday's game, but Wilson is a dual threat behind center and has rushed over 550 yards on the ground this year.
