When Marshawn Lynch gave the world Beast Quake, all he could think about was Drew Brees.
10 years ago, former Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch had the run of his life.
His 67-yard, game-clinching touchdown run, christened Beast Quake, helped the sub-.500 2010 Seahawks get an improbable playoff victory over the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints, leaving star players like Drew Brees completely flabbergasted over what had happened. How does a sub-.500 team beat the defending Super Bowl champions in the playoffs?
Lynch was a five-time Pro Bowler, a two-time All-Pro, a 10,000-yard rusher and a Super Bowl champion in his illustrious NFL career.
Almost certainly destined for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Lynch is one of the greatest tailbacks of his generation. Thriving in life on and off the field, Lynch took the time to reflect on his most definitive play, the one that finally gave the Seahawks flight.
Seeing Drew Brees’ shocked face let Marshawn Lynch know his team had arrived
“Ten years after the fact, I look at it as more so just like, ’ahhh…is that really me?’” said Lynch to FanSided on behalf of Subway and the Pro Teen Awards. “But when it happened though, you gotta remember we were just in a situation where we were the only team in the playoffs with a losing record and we got the defending Super Bowl champions coming in there.”
“And I think after the touchdown, it was a long way back to the sidelines. I look at the big screen and I just see Drew Brees just over there like, ‘What the f**k just happened? Like, are you serious? Like, nah, this s**t ain’t serious, bruh. They are 7-9! Nah, this ain’t just happened.’”
“He put his helmet on like, “Nah, that s**t didn’t happen.’ You know, that was kind of my [surreal moment], like ‘that’s Drew Brees who just did that. Oh, s**t. I know he’s hot right now.’”
Seattle would bow out in the NFC Divisional round to the Chicago Bears, but the Seahawks were well on their way to becoming one of the best teams in football. Two years later, Seattle drafted Russell Wilson out of Wisconsin by way of North Carolina State. Three years later, Seattle won Super Bowl XLVIII over the Denver Broncos, getting back to the big game a year later in 2014.
Though Lynch only lasted five and a half years in his first run with the Seahawks, his excellence up in the Pacific Northwest will earn him a bronze bust in Canton. While the Legion of Boom secondary was the signature position group of that era of Seahawks football, they do not win back-to-back NFC championships without Lynch starring in their backfield. He was sensational.
As we look back on Beast Quake, the run that got the 12s so fired up that it registered on the Richter scale, we also have to remember what happened on the other side of things. The Saints never made it back to the Super Bowl with Brees as their quarterback, despite winning the NFC South more times in the 2010s than of their rival teams. This game changed the course of history.
After Beast Quake, Lynch and his Seahawks were able to mark Brees and his Saints as NFC equals.
Marshawn Lynch spoke with FanSided on behalf of Subway and the Pro Teen Awards. At Subway, guests can build any Footlong into a Protein Bowl, with the same portion of protein, vegetables, cheese and sauce, just without the bread. For a limited time, you can “Go Pro” and double up on protein on any Footlong or Protein Bowl for just $2.00.