Raiders' Marshawn Lynch steps into dance shoes, irking Jets

ByRich Cimini ESPN logo
Monday, September 18, 2017

OAKLAND, Calif. -- With less than 13 minutes remaining in a blowout win over the New York Jets, Beast Mode switched to dance mode.

The home crowd loved it. The Jets didn't.

Several Jets players admitted they were embarrassed and angered byMarshawn Lynch's sideline dance, which was caught on the JumboTron. He grooved to "I'm really from Oakland," featuring Vell and DJ Mustard -- one of the highlight moments in theOakland Raiders' 45-20 win Sunday at Oakland Alameda-Coliseum.

"It irks my ever-living nerves," linebacker Jordan Jenkins said. "When I saw it happening, it was infuriating. ... That pissed me off. I'm an old-school guy. I don't like when things like that happen. That was embarrassing, losing like that and having Marshawn dance like that.

"Great player, but seeing that happen, that should infuriate the whole team. It should infuriate everybody and we should have a good response coming into next Sunday."

The Jets were down 35-13 at the time of Lynch's sideline show. They were in a sour mood because their defense wound up allowing 400 total yards for the second straight week and the most points in 34 games under coach Todd Bowles.

"We're upset because it seems like he was rubbing it in our face," nose tackle Steve McLendon said. "But he's winning, man. He can do whatever he wants to do."

Linebacker Darron Lee added, "It's their house -- they can do whatever they wants -- but as a competitor, as a defender, you don't like to see that type of stuff. It's demoralizing, but we have to bow up and keep fighting."

Lynch grew up in Oakland, and this was his first home game after coming out of retirement and signing with the Raiders. He rushed for 45 yards on 12 carries, including a 2-yard touchdown run that made it 21-10.

As usual, Lynch didn't have much to say afterward. Asked how it felt to electrify the crowd with his dance, he said, "It felt good."

Jenkins said he wasn't mad at Lynch, per se, just the situation.

"When you perform like that, when you beat a team like they did to us, you have to celebrate," he said. "It sucks being on the losing end of it, but that's football. That comes with it.

"You have to take losses like a man. Guys dancing around, you can get mad at them -- you're supposed to. That's football. You don't blame it on unsportsmanlike.

"He fights. He earned every bit of what he did today. I'm not going to take that away from him. Of course, I'm going to be pissed off at him for dancing like that, but that's sports. That's not unsportsmanlike at all."

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