Marshawn Lynch comes off sideline, ejected for bumping ref, watches game in stands

    It’s understandable if Marshawn Lynch wanted to stick up for his quarterback after a late hit by the Kansas City Chiefs, or even if he wanted to break up a fight on the field.

    But Lynch got himself ejected from a big game Thursday night and the punishment might not end there.

    It started in the second quarter when Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters came in late and hit Derek Carr at the end of a run. Many Raiders were upset, especially considering Carr is playing through broken bones in his back. But Lynch went over the line.

    First, he ran off the sideline perhaps to get in the middle of it and perhaps break it up (Lynch and Peters are both from Oakland and are very close). Lynch coming off the sideline is not going to go over well with the NFL. Then when he was in the scrum he shoved official Julian Mapp and then grabbed him, presumably to keep him from going down. That’s an easy ejection.


    If that whole incident wasn’t crazy enough, there was a report before halftime that Lynch left the stadium shortly after he was tossed.


    That could be up for debate as Bleacher Report’s Tyler Conway tweeted:


    It’s a fitting story line for a nutty game, one that ended on a last-second touchdown pass from Carr to Michael Crabtree (with a shaky extra point) that gave the Raiders a stunning 31-30 victory.

    You have to wonder if Lynch will be suspended. The NFL has to consider it for his contact with an official and also running off the bench to get in the middle of the scrum.

    The fine for a first offense for physical contact with an official is $30,387. The combination of that and coming off the sideline could mean it’ll be more than a fine for Lynch.

    He was spotted in the tunnel near the end of the game and in the locker room postgame, according to two Bay Area reporters.




    In the postgame interview, Carr told NFL Network that he appreciated Lynch’s spirited defense.

    “I just saw him, I said ‘Thanks for having my back,'” Carr said. “You never want your teammate getting kicked out or anything like that, but I said, ‘Hey man, it means a lot to me that you had my back.’ He said, ‘Yeah, no problem.'”

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    Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!