Marshawn Lynch Threw Shade at the Dallas Cowboys During a Madden Livestream

During his time in the NFL, Marshawn Lynch wasn't too keen on stepping up to the podium and sharing his takes. Now that the threat of league fines has evaporated, the former running back is a bit more verbose. Beyond his willingness to appear on podcasts and take part in Amazon's NFL coverage, he's also booked some less conventional engagements.

Take, for example, playing Madden 24 outdoors on Esfand's Twitch stream.

But this is Beast Mode we're talking about. There's always room for a bit of extra flair, whether that means breaking tackles or breaking out the Skittles. Or, in this case, talking a bit of trash about the Dallas Cowboys.

Lynch said it will take '10 Years' to Redeem Dallas

In the world of sports, trash talk is simply part of the landscape. As a former NFL player, Lynch has plenty of experience with that reality. And even though the running back has hung up his cleats, there's always room to needle the opposition.

On Monday, October 9, Lynch joined EsfandTV's Twitch stream to play some Madden outside of the Packers vs. Raiders game. As the digital action prepared for kickoff, the streamer announced that he'd be playing as the Cowboys to "redeem" America's Team after a Sunday Night Football drubbing.

That comment provided Lynch with an opportunity, and he attacked it like it was an opening in his offensive line.

"You gotta do what?" the running back asked. "You're gonna have to play Madden for about another 10 years to redeem the Cowboys."

Then, to cap things off, Lynch subtly smirked, seeming to appreciate his own insult.

Lynch's Comment Isn't Completely Off-Base

When you're talking about something as personal as sports fandom, it's easy to feel slighted when someone insults your team. When it comes to Lynch's take on the Dallas Cowboys, though, there's some truth there, even if he exaggerated the timeline.

Focusing specifically on Sunday Night Football, the NFC East club laid an egg on the national stage. The game provided a chance to prove they could hang with the class of the conference. Instead, they were completely outclassed. Dallas' offense only mustered eight first downs and 197 total yards on the night; the defense didn't fare much better, surrendering 421 yards and 42 points.

After the game, the comments didn't make things sound any better. Dak Prescott said the loss was the "most humbling game" he's experienced. Owner Jerry Jones endorsed his quarterback but also took issue with the overall performance of his players and coaches.

Will it take 10 years to bounce back from that loss? It depends on the scope of the redemption. A win will come quickly, but postseason success is harder to come by. If you believe that the Cowboys should be challenging for Super Bowl titles, then vindication is a bit further away.

And when you consider both realities of the organization—Jones calls the shots, and he's not going anywhere —and the fact that the Cowboys haven't made it past the divisional round of the playoffs since 1995, Lynch's timeline does sound a bit more realistic.

Online, several users agreed with the former running back.

On Reddit, for example, the clip hit the "Livestream Fail" subreddit with the title "Marshawn Lynch hits Esfand with a Dose of reality." Below the video, user Ornery_Scarcity_9213 added, "I see no lies here only truth."

User Jenkag seemed to agree, commenting that, "Jerry Jones and Dak Prescott deserve each other."

On YouTube, Esfand posted a short of the interaction in question. While, as of October 11, it had only accumulated eight comments, one of them came from user shonuff0, who noted that "Marshawn keepin' it real haha."

That, however, is the double-edged sword of sports. Opinions are largely based on the most recent news.

That opened up the Cowboys to Lynch's jab, but a string of good results (and a successful season) can quiet the peanut gallery.