Super Bowl 49: Seattle Seahawks Top 5 MVP Candidates
Dec 28, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch (24) talks with a coach during the second half against the St. Louis Rams at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
1. RB Marshawn Lynch
Ah, where would the Seahawks be without a certain crotch-grabbing, “appreciative” running back? Certainly not in the Super Bowl, because they wouldn’t have prevailed against the Packers without his insane, 15-missed-tackles-forced of a performance. There isn’t a better back in the NFL at making defenders look silly, and he is the Seahawks best hope against a Patriots defense that specializes in shutting down the passing game, particularly the deep passes that Jermaine Kearse and the ‘Hawks crave (we all saw what they did to the Panthers burn-prone DBs).
It’s not that the Patriots run defense is bad, and they have enough discipline to set the edge and avoid making mistakes against Lynch. That said, he has a tendency to make even the most disciplined players look silly, as he pulled off some memorable moves against San Francisco 49ers star rookie linebacker Chris Borland earlier this year.
Lynch is clearly one of the three best running backs in the NFL right now, and he was my pick for the outside-the-box MVP award. He’s the most important player on arguably the best team in the league, and Lynch has the best shot of having a big day to help lead his team to a second straight Super Bowl title.