In the four seasons since, Lynch has 1,181 regular-season carries for 5,357 yards and 48 rushing touchdowns — leading the N.F.L. in all of those categories in the span since 2011.

When the Seahawks trailed the Green Bay Packers by 16-0 midway through the third quarter of the N.F.C. championship game, Lynch took over. He gained 120 of his 157 rushing yards after halftime as the Seahawks won in overtime, 28-22.

Image Pete Carroll endured the traditional dousing after the Seahawks won the Super Bowl last year. Credit... Ben Solomon for The New York Times

“He was just alive — ripping,” Carroll said last week. “He had a couple catches, too. It’s been an extraordinary season that he’s put out here because he’s been so consistent for so long and he’s been so physically right for so long. He looked explosive again. He looked fast. His attitude is always there. He was able to take advantage of space and, sometimes, no space.”

No back strikes fear into defenders the way Lynch does. His ability to shake tackles and carry opponents is a metaphor for his background and the foundation for his Beast Mode nickname. He attended and starred at Oakland Technical High School, then accepted a scholarship at California, just a few minutes from home, in Berkeley.

In three seasons there, he gained 3,230 yards, a faithful following and a place in program lore by commandeering an injury cart and driving it around the field after a wild victory.

He has attained folk-hero status in Seattle, too, with his bruising runs and his in-game penchant for Skittles — a flashback to childhood, when Lynch’s mother, Delisa, fueled him with the “power pellets” during games. After the Super Bowl last year in East Rutherford, N.J., he danced through the locker room while wearing a ski mask, a hood and a towel over his head.