Matt Calkins: Marshawn Lynch should raise 12 Flag at NFC championship game

Matt Calkins, The Seattle Times on Jan 23, 2026

Published in Football

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RENTON, Wash. — “Come do it, Beast Mode.”

That was Seahawks defensive lineman Leonard Williams on Wednesday after I proposed an idea to him. The subject was whether he gets pumped when certain players raise the 12 Flag just before kickoff at Lumen Field. Like his teammates who were asked the same question, Williams acknowledged that it was a cool moment for the fans, but it didn’t seem like something that invigorated him personally.

Then I mentioned that Marshawn Lynch had never participated in the tradition. Leonard perked up.

“I think people would go crazy,” he said. “I would go crazy.”

On Sunday the Seahawks will host the Rams in the NFC Championship Game. It’s the first time in 11 years Seattle has reached this stage, and you gotta think the energy at Lumen would be able to power a small country.

But nothing — at least not before the game starts — would be able to extract more from the fans’ vocal cords than Lynch raising that flag. After all, this has been the year of Seahawks legends, and does anyone fit that description better than No. 24?

That isn’t to say Marshawn is the best player to ever don the blue and green, but he might be the most beloved. The man famous for saying, “I’m just ’bout that action, boss” became Seahawks royalty by giving the game everything and the press (almost) nothing. Reporters might have been momentarily peeved by a dearth in quotes from one of the game’s great running backs, but his reticence transformed him into folklore in the minds of the 12s.

They saw a borderline Hall of Famer marching to the beat of his own subwoofer. Teammates saw an All-Pro absorbing hit after hit after hit en route to the Super Bowl. You could tell there was a level of respect unique to Lynch in that locker room. And though the players occupying that space have changed, the reverence for Beast Mode hasn’t.

Do you guys get pumped up when you see who’s raising the flag? I asked Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV.

“Yes, I do, but it’s kind of split-second, honestly. That’s so close to the game that your brain’s moving and you’re thinking, ‘Let’s get go get after these guys.’ “

I’m only asking because Marshawn has never done it.

“Is he doing it this week?” Jones asked.

I’m writing that he should.

“He should,” Jones said. “That would be legendary. That would honestly get the 12s rocking.”

Would it get you rocking?

“100 percent.”

The Seahawks have given no indication as to who is going to raise the 12 Flag Sunday. It’s worth noting that then-owner Paul Allen did it the past three times Seattle hosted the NFC championship game. This has led to speculation that current owner Jody Allen, Paul’s sister, will perform the duty this time around. And if that’s the case, hey, more power to her.

Jody has kept the Seahawks humming since Paul’s death in 2018. It would be a great way for her to make a public appearance in front of an appreciative crowd. It wouldn’t be Beast Mode, though. Not even close.

Plus, if there was ever a time to break the owner’s flag-raising custom, it would be this year. Every home game this season (minus a former Air Force general as part of the NFL’s “Salute to Service” initiative), a former Seahawk has hoisted that flag to the top of the pole.

We’ve seen Jim Zorn and Steve Largent. We’ve seen Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor. We saw Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett in September and Doug Baldwin on Saturday. But there’s one guy we’ve never seen.

“That would definitely be dope. I think the fans would definitely love that,” Seahawks defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence said of the Lynch proposal.

Then, unprompted, he turned his attention to the decibel levels.

“If Marshawn raises the flag, it’s definitely going to reach 115.”

For what it’s worth, Lynch is said to be hosting a pregame tailgate Sunday at Xtadium lounge, which is two blocks from Lumen Field. And the man has never been shy about his allegiance to the Seahawks.

Remember his exchange on Prime Video with former Seahawks teammate Richard Sherman, who was celebrating the 49ers’ feats on “Thursday Night Football” a couple of years back?

“I gotta test your loyalty,” Lynch said.

Said fellow “TNF” commentator Ryan Fitzpatrick: “Marshawn, he played for San Francisco.”

“I know he did,” Lynch replied. “But where’d he get his Bowl at?”

Seattle is one win from going to another Bowl. And anyone who’s been paying attention knows that the home-field atmosphere could be the difference between victory and defeat.

The Seahawks are focused on getting the job finished. Lynch should be the man who gets the crowd started.