It was not a good day for the Seattle Seahawks offense, or star wide receiver DK Metcalf, on Sunday against the Bengals. After a week off, Seattle’s offense hardly looked like the well-oiled machine many were expecting they’d be. Instead of being able to capitalize on a strong performance from their defense, the offense stalled time and time again.
The biggest culprit was of course quarterback Geno Smith, who took full responsibility for his lackluster play. But we should not be overlooking Metcalf’s performance either. Metcalf only hauled in four passes out of ten total targets, including one where it directly resulted in an interception.
To Metcalf’s credit, he absolutely owned his responsibility on this play.
DK took the blame for this interception. Said he felt the corner undercutting the route and running it for him, so he was just about to go into scramble mode. “That was my fault. That was not on Geno or anybody else. Solely my fault.” pic.twitter.com/ymZVJwNvH8
— Dugar, Michael-Shawn (@MikeDugar) October 15, 2023
But where Metcalf did not take accountability was on the play where he was flagged for unnecessary roughness… again. Once more, Metcalf’s inability to stay calm and not let defenders get to him reared its ugly head. Metcalf offered quite the explanation as for why he hit Bengals cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt the way he did.
On this play that was flagged for unnecessary roughness, DK says he was downfield & didn’t a hear a whistle blowing the play dead so he continued to block. Says he had a convo with the official about that, and that this issue came up against the Giants as well. Full answer here: pic.twitter.com/hxWWA9EiXk
— Dugar, Michael-Shawn (@MikeDugar) October 15, 2023
The explanation of “not hearing the whistle” and therefore not realizing the play is dead, is rather weak in my opinion. Metcalf and Taylor-Britt clearly stop, Metcalf pauses, then continues to go full tilt into a player who has obviously stopped his effort on the play.
I said it in Week 1 and I’ll say it again in Week 6: Metcalf’s in year five of his career. The hothead act has officially worn thin. While this did not cost the Seahawks as dearly as it did in Week 1, it’s still beyond frustrating. Metcalf is still a beloved figure in Seattle sports, rightfully so, but if he keeps this up it’s only going to be a matter of time before the 12th Man starts to sour on him.
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Studs and Duds from Seattle’s Week 6 loss to the Bengals