Seahawks RB Marshawn Lynch Ruled Out Week 5 Against Bengals

After winning Super Bowl XLVIII in dominating fashion against the Denver Broncos and returning to the big game last season, the Seattle Seahawks have struggled to reclaim their dominant form for a number of different reasons. Along with a costly holdout by Kam Chancellor and tight end Jimmy Graham looking like a bust, Seattle will be without their star running back Marshawn Lynch for a second straight week.

According to Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk\, Lynch has been ruled out Week 5 against the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Seahawks have ruled Lynch out for the second straight week, the first time that’s ever happened during his time in Seattle. Thomas Rawls ran 17 times for 48 yards against the Lions last Monday and may be in for an even heavier workload this weekend.

Seattle has had a rough start to the season with the team losing two of out the first four games of the 2015 NFL campaign. The defense has been nowhere near as dominant as the last two years and the running game has been virtually nonexistent with quarterback Russell Wilson being the leading rusher with 177 yards thus far.

The absence of Lynch, much like the absence of Chancellor in the first two games, has hurt the Seahawks as the team attempts to get back on track. Although the Seahawks have won two straight heading into this showdown with the Bengals, Seattle will be on the road this week facing arguably their toughest test of the season outside of losing to the Green Bay Packers in Week 1.

The Seahawks are currently considered the underdogs heading into their matchup with the undefeated Bengals at +3, according to Sportsbook.ag. Everyone continues to wait for Seattle to breakout and become the dominant team of old, but it doesn’t seem to be happening and will be even more challenging this weekend against Cincinnati at Paul Brown Stadium.