It’s highly unusual when Russell Wilson throws an interception. Coming into Sunday night’s game against the Cardinals, he’d only thrown three all season. But he threw one to Arizona safety Budda Baker — the reigning NFC Defensive Player of the Week — with 9:05 left in the first half, and it looked to all the world that Baker was on his way to a pick-six that would have traveled nearly 100 yards, .
And then, Seahawks receiver DK Metcalf, at 6-foot-4 and 229 pounds, chased Baker down out of nowhere, and tackled the 5-foot-10, 195-pound Baker at the Seattle eight-yard line.
DK Metcalf is the fastest man alive pic.twitter.com/9VhcgETEDx
— Jac Collinsworth (@JacCollinsworth) October 26, 2020
D.K. Metcalf reached 22.64 MPH and traveled 114.8 yards to chase down Budda Baker on his 90-yard interception return (Baker's top speed: 21.27 MPH).
This was the 2nd-fastest speed reached on a tackle this season.#SEAvsARI | #Seahawks | #RedSea pic.twitter.com/nyX0Y16LQz
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) October 26, 2020
Perhaps it shouldn’t be that much of a surprise — Metcalf blew up the 2019 scouting combine by running a 4.33 40-yard dash, while Baker ran a 4.45 at the 2017 combine.
This was more than just a splash play — it would have been an easy touchdown were it not for Metcalf’s effort, but the Seahawks’ defense stopped the Cardinals from scoring any points on the subsequent drive, and the score remained 13-7.