49ers on Lynch’s return: ‘He’s another player we’ve got to hit as hard as we can’
The return of running back Marshawn Lynch hasn’t exactly thrown a wrench into the 49ers’ preparation for Sunday’s important regular season finale against the Seahawks.
“I get it,” defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said Thursday. “It’s cool for the fans, cool for the media to talk about. But he’s another player that we’ve got to hit as hard as we can. ... It’s cool that they need the emotional boost, but we look at it the same.”
Saleh’s remark falls in line with a theme coming from 49ers headquarters this week: This game isn’t more important than any other —because they’re all important. Even if the showdown is arguably the most important regular season contest in years that will determine the winner of the NFC West and which team gets a first-round bye in the playoffs.
Treating every game the same is a lesson Richard Sherman learned during his time with the Seattle Seahawks. Head coach Pete Carroll famously treats every week like a “championship opportunity,” which helped the Seahawks maintain a consistent run of contention throughout the last decade.
“If you don’t (treat each game the same), then you ride the wave of emotions and you’re inconsistent in your play,” said Sherman.
And it’s how the Pro Bowler is approaching the return of Lynch, which has Seattle buzzing after the Seahawks recently lost their top three running backs to season-ending injured reserve: Chris Carson (hip), Rashaad Penny (ACL) and C.J. Prosise (arm).
“I don’t worry about it. We’re going to defend who they put out there,” said Sherman, who recently joined Lynch for a meal at his new soul food restaurant in Emeryville. “We don’t worry about who they bring in, we’ll worry about who they put in when they put him in, and we’ll go out there and execute and get it done.
“I don’t think about it either way, honestly.”
‘Beast Quake’ gives Seahawks a lift
Lynch is most famous for his “Beast Quake” run to help the Seahawks beat the Saints in a playoff game following the 2010 season. Seismic activity was felt near Seattle’s downtown stadium as fans reacted to the epic 67-yard run that included missed tackles being seemingly every New Orleans defender.
Additionally, the CenturyLink Field shook, and the press box bounced, when Lynch scored a game-tying 40-yard touchdown in the third quarter of the epic conference championship game between San Francisco and Seattle in January 2014.
It may be important for the 49ers to prevent Lynch from making any game-changing runs Sunday night to avoid the emotion of the game swinging toward the home team. Though Sherman disputed the idea that Lynch alone would be the reason for the atmosphere getting even more raucous than normal.
“They respond to big plays. It doesn’t matter who’s making them,” Sherman said. “Kam (Chancellor) had a pick six against Carolina one time and the whole place was shaking. I don’t think it mattered who made the play. The big play will get the crowd involved.”
The Seahawks’ main source of big plays, of course, is quarterback Russell Wilson, who has been mentioned as an MVP candidate throughout the Season. Wilson is tied for the league lead with four fourth-quarter comebacks and five game-winning drives, including the against the 49ers in overtime the last time they met in November.
One of the plays that set up a game-winning field goal was a Wilson scramble that got Seattle into kicker Jason Myers’ range before kicking the 42-yard game-winner.
Wilson is adept at making things happen with his legs by evading pass rushers and finding his receivers down field. It forces defensive players to balance being aggressive in attacking Wilson while being sure to keep him contained in case he does escape.
“You have to have respect to your rush lanes,” Saleh said. “You have to be respectful to the level of the quarterback when you’re around the edge. You have to be respectful to the pocket push and what could happen and being tied together and what could happen if one of your guys takes an outside move and what you need to do to counter it.
“But at the same time, you don’t want to handicap your guys into being so worried about where this guy’s rushing that it just becomes what I call a mush rush where no one is really getting off their blocks and getting to the quarterback.”
The 49ers averaged four sacks per game over their first 11. Yet that production has dropped significantly the past four weeks when they had just three sacks combined.
Attrition has taken it’s toll, particularly with Dee Ford likely to miss his fifth game in six weeks with a hamstring injury, in addition to nose tackle D.J. Jones going down with a high ankle sprain and productive reserve Ronald Blair III tearing his ACL the last time the 49ers and Seahawks played.
Which make Sunday an important game for standout rookie Nick Bosa, who said this week he’s learned about the approach required to bring down mobile quarterbacks after playing Wilson once already and Arizona’s Kyler Murray twice.
Bosa could benefit from the Seahawks being without their starting tackle Duane Brown after he had knee surgery this week setting up a match up between Bosa and backup Jamarco Jones. Seattle allowed four sacks sacks to the league’s sack leader Chandler Jones during the last game against the Cardinals.
“I definitely learned a lot, early in the year,” Bosa said. “I was missing a lot of (sacks) and I know that there’s two super important parts to rush. Obviously, beating the offensive lineman and then finishing. And that’s what makes the great players who they are. ... They know how to finish and get the ball out and that’s the next step I have to take.”
What does Bosa need to do to take that next step?
“Just play,” he said.
This story was originally published December 27, 2019 at 4:00 AM.