AP

The Seahawks offense hasn’t had a particularly easy time of it of late as they’ve struggled to find consistent ways to move the ball.

There have been a variety of problems, including a patchwork offensive line, to work through and that has forced the team to improvise from week to week. One of the more successful improvisations came last week as the team featured running back Marshawn Lynch as a receiver.

Lynch caught five passes for 76 yards on a day when the Seahawks managed just 177 yards through the air overall. That helped them grind out a win and it helped them find a way to feature Lynch during a season that has seen him held under 100 rushing yards in every game but the opener. Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell suggested that there’s more to come because they want the ball in the hands of their best offensive player.

“We want to use our good players,” Bevell said, via the Seattle Times. “And he’s definitely, probably the best player on our offense and we want to get him the ball as many ways as we can.”

Lynch’s future with the Seahawks beyond this season is cloudy after his contract discontent this offseason, but there’s little question that the 2014 Seahawks need Lynch to be a major cog in the offense. If that means throwing him the ball in space rather than having him batter his way through opposing defenses, then that’s what the team will have to do because not much else is working for the defending champions.