The Seattle Seahawks have successfully turned their season around as the win over the Cleveland Browns clinched them another year in the playoffs. With Russell Wilson thriving, the ground game is the biggest question mark moving forward thanks to a number of injuries in the backfield. Christine Michael and Bryce Brown led the charge in Week 15 while head coach Pete Carroll remains optimistic about Marshawn Lynch's return.
With playoffs now officially in the picture, the Seahawks are hopeful Lynch can get back as the running back continues to rehab from a sports hernia. According to Jay Glazer of FOX Sports, Lynch is rehabbing off site with an MMA coach to "get the fight back." The Seahawks need Lynch's "fight" after losing Thomas Rawls for the remainder of the year. Considering no one has seen Lynch, Carroll would not offer up a time table for the veteran's return to the team, but he remains confident it happens soon.
"He has to make it back to full speed and get going and all that kind of stuff," Carroll said, via the team website. "There's a really good chance that he will be back. If we can keep playing games it'll help, the more we can play the better his chances are, so we'll see."
Until then, the Seahawks will continue to operate under a committee approach. Michael had 84 yards off 16 carries while Brown added 43 yards and fullback Derrick Coleman had 10 yards. That was enough to keep the offense moving while Wilson linked up with Tyler Lockett for a score and Doug Baldwin for another two touchdowns. The success of the run game saw nice returns for Michael and Brown who were both out of the mix for some time. Michael stressed that rotating running backs is necessary for the win and he will play whatever part in that he can.
"It's going to be a running back by committee, and who's ever in there and who's ever the hot hand, that's who will go," Michael said, via the Seattle Times. "We just to try to get the team wins and congratulations to us for going to the playoffs. I never really lost what I knew for the Seattle playbook or how they run the offense. It was pretty easy getting back into it. Just a little review and just hop right back into it."
The success of the run game is good news for Seattle as they await the return of Lynch. While the Seahawks were only playing the Cleveland Browns, getting Michael and Brown time on the field will help going forward. Seattle will play the St. Louis Rams in Week 16.
