5 Oakland Raiders who helped themselves vs. Tennessee Titans
4. Marshawn Lynch
Everyone and their brother is hyped about the return of Beast Mode. Everyone in Raider Nation has been waiting for this game since the Raiders announced he had been signed. Expectations were high coming in, fans naïvely expecting him to be the same runner he was during his stay in Seattle.
Fortunately for fans, he wasn’t that far off. After spending the last year and a half away from the game, Lynch came back with vengeance. He retired prior to last season, and only played seven games during the prior season. Needless to say, there is some rust on his tires.
However, Marshawn Lynch, similar to Carr, came out firing on all cylinders. On his first carry, he powered through defenders and picked up 14 yards. Later on in the game he absolutely destroyed Jurrell Casey in a display of pure force.
On 18 attempts, Beast Mode picked up 76 yards. He also had one reception for 16 yards. No touchdowns, but after being away from the game for so long, he looked really good. Per Pro Football Focus, Lynch forced five missed tackles. Back to the hard-nosed smash mouth running that earned him his mantra.
Lynch helped himself in a similar way to Carr, he shook off the cobwebs. Most players lose a step if they have a long absence from the game. With this, compounded by the fact that he is now north of 30, Lynch looked quite impressive. If this game is an accurate portrayal of how Lynch is going to play this season, the Raiders are in a very good position.