Raiders Marshawn Lynch had more yards after contact than actual yards vs Dolphins

You know how sometimes a quarterback can have more passing yards on a drive than the length of the drive itself? It happens. It happened to Derek Carr last week. Usually it’s due to penalties backing the team up and the quarterback having to throw for more.

A similar concept had Marshawn Lynch to have more yards after contact than he had actual positive yards against the Dolphins Sunday. Basically it means that defenders were often making contact behind the line of scrimmage and he was breaking that tackle or driving through it for positive yards.

Marshawn picked up 57 yards on the ground and 60 yards after contact according to Pro Football Focus. He finished the game averaging 4.07 yards per carry, but 4.29 yards after contact which was third among backs with 10-plus touches in Week 9. That’s pretty impressive for him and perhaps not so impressive for the blockers who are supposed to be keeping defenders off of him in the backfield.

This is not really new for Marshawn. He has long been known for his yards after contact abilities, much of it due to the shoddy offensive line he had in Seattle.

He gets a lot of criticism for the fact that he has yet to crack 100 yards in a game this season, but it isn’t entirely on him. His 37 snaps in week 9 was the most he’s received all season. And his 14 carries was his most since the season opener when he had 18 carries for a season high 76 yards.

With his increased workload, he had his third highest rushing total and his first multi-touchdown (2) game since 2014.

One of those touchdowns was from 22 yards out, which was his longest run of the season. That was his 9th carry of the game. And of course, he broke a tackle right at the line to get into the defensive backfield.

Marshawn’s second touchdown came on his 13th carry from three yards out. It’s only the third time this season he’s had as many as 13 carries in a game.