Seattle have Marshawn Lynch on their mind, and Browns look good for the postseason

The Seattle Seahawks have a funny way of showing that they’re sick of Marshawn Lynch. On Sunday, they handed him the ball 21 times against the New York Giants. He turned those opportunities into 140 yards and four touchdowns in a 38-17 win.

Not bad for a player who was said to be more trouble than he’s worth. Barely two weeks have passed since ESPN reported that the Seahawks were likely to part ways with Lynch at the end of this season. “The organization has grown tired of his ways,” wrote Chris Mortensen, “including pulling a no-show at the White House Super Bowl ceremony, his training camp holdout and his possible contribution to locker-room distractions.”

In truth, this kind of speculation had been trickling out ever since the summer – when Lynch stayed away from camp in a failed attempt to wring an improved contract from his employers. His present deal would give him a cap figure of $9m in 2015, a number that would already be hard for the Seahawks to justify. He turns 29 in April, after which age running-back performance almost invariably begins to decline – according to the stats.

With quarterback Russell Wilson due a hefty pay raise at the end of this, his third year in the league (the terms of the collective bargaining agreement prevent renegotiation of rookie deals before that point, meaning Wilson, a third-round pick, will be paid barely $660,000 this season), it is logical enough that Seattle would consider trading or releasing Lynch to make room under the salary cap. But watching him trample over the Giants on Sunday reminded us why that decision cannot be as straightforward as it appears on paper.

Lynch was not the only player to make big gains on the ground against New York. Wilson himself rushed for 107 yards, while backup running backs Christine Michael and Robert Turbin combined for another 103. But it is questionable whether any of them would have been so effective without Lynch leading the way, pulverising defenders with his relentlessly physical approach.

The simple fact is that Seattle’s successes over the last five years have tended to correlate with those of their star tailback. Lynch has had 30 games with 20 or more carries since arriving via trade in 2010. The Seahawks have won 25 of them.

His defensive team-mates know they would sooner play with him, than against him. “I would love to play with Marshawn as long as he wants to play football,’’ said safety Earl Thomas. “I never want him to leave, especially when I’m playing. It’s hard to replace guys like that.”

Hard to stop them, too. PB

Browns braced for a rare playoff push

Cleveland’s defeat of Cincinnati almost feels like old news, having taken place a whopping five days ago, but it remains the most remarkable result of the (extended) weekend. The Browns were 6.5-point underdogs with the Las Vegas bookies, but wound up crushing the Bengals 24-3. The win gave Cleveland, at 6-3, sole possession of first place in the AFC North. Pittsburgh’s loss to the Jets on Sunday allowed them to retain it.

Not since 1995 have the Browns stood alone atop their division beyond the third week of an NFL campaign. It was at the end of that season that Art Modell moved his team to Baltimore and turned them into the Ravens. The Browns were reformed as an expansion team in 1998. This incarnation of the franchise has reached the playoffs just once in 15 years.

Fans in Cleveland have grown to expect disappointment. Few truly got their hopes up after a three-game winning streak gave them a 3-2 record in early October last year. But the excitement around this season’s team is becoming harder and harder to keep in check. “Two months ago, many fans would have signed up for eight wins, a doubling of last season’s total,” wrote Tom Reed for cleveland.com on Tuesday. “Now, an eight-win season would qualify as a disappointment.”

Quarterback Brian Hoyer, the hometown kid, has done little else but win games as Cleveland’s starter. He is not the most accurate passer, completing 58.5% of his throws, and his quarterback rating of 90.4 ranks him just 19th among starting quarterbacks. But he has won nine out of 12 games dating back to last season. Crucially, he has thrown just four interceptions in nine outings in 2014.

And while his 10 touchdowns are also a modest number, there are reasons to believe he can improve. Most obviously, he has played this entire season without his No1 receiver, Josh Gordon, a player who reeled in 87 balls for 1,646 yards and nine touchdowns in 14 games last year.

That Cleveland have done so well without him speaks volumes to the work being done by Hoyer and first-year head coach Mike Pettine. The Browns have even survived significant adversity, coping with the loss of Pro Bowl center Alex Mack to a broken leg. Perhaps the single most encouraging aspect of Thursday’s win for Cleveland was the success they had in reviving the running game for the first time since his injury.

They still have plenty to do to make the playoffs. Not every opponent left on the Browns’ schedule will play as poorly as Cincinnati, for whom Andy Dalton threw three picks and completed just 10 of 33 passes. Four of Cleveland’s remaining seven games are on the road, and their last seven opponents have a combined record of 32-30-2.

But if nothing else, the mindset of this team is the right one. Last month, right tackle Mitchell Schwartz relayed a story about Hoyer coming into the locker room after the Browns’ 31-10 win over the Steelers, and demanding that nobody start getting ahead of themselves.

“He said, ‘Good teams practice harder after wins,’” noted Schwartz at the time. “He said, ‘You have to come back and prove it again and prove it again.’”

That message remains as true now as it was then. Hopefully the Browns are still listening. PB

Jets future on a knife edge despite win

The New York Jets avoided a franchise-record ninth consecutive loss on Sunday with a surprising – yet unsurprising given the Steelers inconsistent play this season - 20-13 victory over Pittsburgh.

While it’s hard to see any number of wins from here on in saving Rex Ryan’s job, he bestowed more happiness than many a coach does after a Super Bowl victory when he quipped to the press afterward: “All right! Finally!” It seems he will enjoy the ride of uncertainty amid a week in which a plane carried a banner reading “Fire John Idzik” during a Jets practice on Wednesday.

The story remains the same for Pittsburgh, who had won three home games in a row but had been masters at alternating wins and losses. They failed to penetrate the Jets’ biggest weakness: that inept secondary. New York came into this game with a ghastly three takeaways all season, but eclipsed that total with four against Pittsburgh – three of which came from Jaiquawn Jarrett, the defensive back who was drafted 54th overall in 2011 but took until this day to record his first NFL interception. Ben Roethlisberger’s only touchdown was late in the fourth quarter on an 80-yarder to Martavis Bryant – he of the six touchdown catches from only 14 receptions – which is a subdued performance, given the Jets pass-rush had given up a league-worst 24 touchdown passes before this encounter.

When Mo Wilkerson knocked the ball loose from Antonio Brown’s grasp, it was the team’s first forced turnover since week five – a span of 227 snaps.

“Jets: rebuilding since 1969” was the latest banner to be unfurled as Sunday’s teams warmed up, but as unfair as that proclamation might seem, this Jets team must certainly re-consider what wins actually do for them at this stage. Michael Vick became the first NFL quarterback to rush for 6,000 yards but the story of Geno Smith and Vick is no longer the burning issue. The 2015 draft, which will be hosted in Chicago, provides perhaps a genuine chance for New York to draft a future quarterback that could carry them for years to come. The Raiders (0-9), Jaguars (1-9) and Buccaneers (1-8) have become emotionally attached to losing, so the Jets have some work to do if they wish to stop the rebuilding and begin the rebranding. MW

Niners secure must-win in Superdome

The Superdome played host to a playoff atmosphere on Sunday as New Orleans and San Francisco entered uncharted territory; both holding 4-4 records this late into the season. But it was the 49ers in greater need of victory because of the comparative strength of the NFC West and the catastrophic NFC South.

The Niners somehow pulled off an improbable come-from-behind 27-24 win against a Saints team that hadn’t lost at home with Sean Payton – banned for the entire 2012 season – on the sidelines since week 17 of 2010, a span of 20 straight wins. On the other side, a San Francisco loss would have put them under .500 at the latest point in a season during the Jim Harbaugh era. Instead, Colin Kaepernick – sacked four times in this one – found Michael Crabtree on fourth-and-10 from the Saints’ 22 with 1.05 remaining, etting up Phil Dawson’s 45-yard field goal which sent it into the extra period before he notched another from 35 yards to seal the deal.

Harbaugh arrived in the Bay Area in 2011 and just about kept his record of never losing three straight games with the team intact, with special thanks going to Frank Gore, who led the way with 81 yards rushing. The 49ers hadn’t recorded a rushing touchdown in their last five games, but Gore and understudy Carlos Hyde both secured one each in the first quarter.

In a topsy-turvy battle that could have gone either way, the Saints didn’t lead until less than two minutes remaining, but it’s back to the drawing board for Drew Brees’ team, who have now surrendered four games this season having led in the final two minutes of regulation. This was a big win for the 49ers because of Arizona (8-1) and Seattle’s (6-3) success and the Saints, while still mystifyingly atop their division following Carolina’s loss last night, would be 1.5 games out of last place in the AFC North. Yes ladies and gentleman, the division is so bad that even the Atlanta Falcons, who have won once in the last 54 days, are a game out of first. MW

Quick outs

• Another man down for the Arizona Cardinals, and on paper the most important one. Two days after signing a three-year, $50m, contract extension, quarterback Carson Palmer tore the ACL in his left knee during the fourth quarter of his team’s game against St Louis. The Cardinals survived this latest body blow, with Palmer’s back-up, Drew Stanton, hitting John Brown for a 48-yard touchdown on his very first possession – giving them a lead they would not relinquish. But even though the backup won two out of three while starting in place of an injured Palmer earlier in the season, you have to wonder if they are capable of maintaining such momentum long-term a man who is completing less than half of his passes.

• Can these really be the same Lions, holding their nerve to win three close games in a row? Detroit are now 7-2, and while fans might not want to get ahead of themselves after what happened last season – when they collapsed from a 6-2 start to a 7-9 finish – the mood does feel different under Jim Caldwell. Most crucially, Detroit are taking care of the football. The Lions can still do better in that department, but 12 turnovers in nine games represents significant improvement on the 34 they had in 16 games last season.

• It is the opposite story in Chicago, where Jay Cutler’s two interceptions and one lost fumble against the Packers mean that he alone now has 15 turnovers on the year. But as tempting as it is to load all the blame onto the quarterback (and certainly he deserves his fair share of it), he cannot be held responsible for a defense that is giving up more than 380 yards and 30 points per game. One post-game remark from Packers wide receiver Jordy Nelson this weekend led reporters in Chicago to surmise that Green Bay might even have worked out the Bears’ defensive play-calling signals.

• Mark Sanchez’s stat line from his first start for Philadelphia is nothing to write home about: 20 of 37 passes completed for two touchdowns and no interceptions. But throw in the facts that he came within a few feet of a third scoring pass (Brent Celek’s knee touched the ground a fraction of a second too soon), and that Sanchez was getting plays off so fast that the officials, quite literally, could not keep up, and suddenly it starts to look a lot better. Early days yet, but Sanchez does continue to look like a nice fit for Chip Kelly.

• Grapes (stalks included), banana, ‘Chucky’s’ chocolate protein powder, and pineapple in Jon Gruden’s Monday Night Football milkshake. Probably a good thing they could not find a power outlet for that blender.

• Highlight of the weekend: Brock Osweiler running to grab his helmet after being told he is finally going to get his chance in garbage time against the Raiders, only to turn around and see that Peyton Manning has already run out onto the field. PB