Michael Irvin: “You Have to Hand That Ball to Marshawn Lynch”

Like his old Cowboys teammates Emmitt Smith and Deion Sanders, Hall of Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin couldn’t believe the Seattle Seahawks didn’t run Marshawn Lynch on the second-and-one play that turned out to be the final offensive snap of their season.

Irvin opined that the call--a slant to Ricardo Lockette--may have been motivated by some desire on the Seahawks’ part to make quarterback Russell Wilson, and not Lynch, the star of the game.

“You get into this situation, it’s about winning football games,” Irvin said after the game, per the Dallas Morning News. “And we heard so much about what’s going on in Seattle with Marshawn Lynch. You get down to the two-yard line. Twenty seconds, you got another timeout and you do not hand him that ball. You’re trying to make Russell [Wilson] a star at that moment. You have to hand that ball to Marshawn Lynch. And Jermaine Kearse made a great play on the ball, but you’ve got to hand off that ball.

“You’ve got to sit here and wonder how much of it are you trying to take the power away from Marshawn Lynch and give it more to the quarterback?”

This theory has gained some popularity since Sunday night, but the many who dismiss such thinking are quick to point out that the Seahawks gave the ball to Lynch on the prior play, and he almost scored.