Seahawks receiver DK Metcalf makes franchise history, but fumble proves costly

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf made franchise history on Monday night.

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Metcalf hauled in seven catches for 104 yards in Seattle’s 42-29 loss to the Detroit Lions, making him the first player in the Seahawks’ 49-year history with three consecutive 100-yard receiving games. The sixth-year wideout had 10 catches for 129 yards and a touchdown in Seattle’s Week 2 win over the New England Patriots, followed by four catches for 104 yards and a TD in last week’s win over the Miami Dolphins.

Through the first four weeks, Metcalf has 24 catches for 366 yards and two touchdowns. He ranks third in the NFL in receiving yardage, trailing only Houston Texans wideout Nico Collins (489) and New York Giants rookie Malik Nabers (386).

However, Metcalf’s milestone night also included a costly fumble.

Late in the first quarter, Metcalf caught a slant pass over the middle and used his powerful 6-foot-4, 235-pound frame to rumble through two defenders for a 14-yard gain. But as Metcalf was fighting for extra yardage, Detroit linebacker Jack Campbell delivered a hit that knocked the ball free. Lions cornerback Carlton Davis scooped up the fumble and returned it 49 yards to the Seattle 14-yard line, setting up a touchdown that gave Detroit an early 14-0 lead.

The game-swinging play left the Seahawks playing catchup the rest of the night.

“We’ll look at the play,” Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald said. “I mean, (Metcalf) is fighting his tail off to get extra yards, just dragging people down the field. The guy had a good hit, found the ball and it came out, so we’ll try to make it right. But we’re never gonna tell guys to go down early or anything like that.”

The ball placement from Geno. The body control from DK.

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Metcalf’s night began with a spectacular 20-yard toe-drag catch on the sideline on Seattle’s first play from scrimmage. Later in the first half, he beat Davis with a stutter-step move at the line of scrimmage and hauled in a 29-yard reception to the Detroit 1-yard line to set up the Seahawks’ first touchdown. By halftime, he had five catches for 73 yards.

On the opening possession of the second half, Metcalf extended Seattle’s drive with a third-down reception. Later in the drive, he drew a 21-yard defensive pass-interference penalty on Davis that spotted the ball on the 9-yard line to help set up another TD.

Metcalf was also at the center of two controversial plays.

After the Seahawks cut the deficit to 28-20 late in the third quarter, Geno Smith targeted Metcalf on a 2-point conversion attempt. Metcalf caught the pass on the left edge of the end zone, but he was ruled out of bounds. Replays showed that his knee might have touched inbounds as he made the catch, but the play wasn’t reviewed.

“The explanation I got was that the booth was looking at it and they confirmed that it was incomplete,” Macdonald said.

Later on, with Seattle down 42-27 and trying to mount a comeback in the final minutes, the Seahawks got what was essentially a free play after Detroit jumped offside. Smith launched a pass to the end zone for Metcalf, who appeared to draw a pass-interference penalty on safety Brandon Joseph. However, there was no flag on the play. The Seahawks ended up driving to the 3-yard line before turning the ball over on downs.

Metcalf’s big night coincided with a career performance from Smith. The veteran 33-year-old quarterback completed 38 of 56 passes for a career-high 395 yards, which gives him an NFL-leading 1,182 passing yards through the first four weeks of the season.

“I thought he was poised,” Macdonald said. “I thought he was accurate. I thought he played a heck of a game. I don’t know what the stats are, but I thought he played really well.”

Metcalf was one of 10 different Seahawks to catch a pass on Monday. Tyler Lockett added five catches for 61 yards and Jaxon Smith-Njigba had eight receptions for 51 yards.

“It speaks to everybody,” Macdonald said of the 10 different pass-catchers. “It speaks to the protection. It speaks to the unselfishness that our skill guys have, the precision that we’re playing with some of the routes, Geno just playing within the system and throwing the ball where it needs to go. … And if everybody’s a threat at the same time, it’s hard to take away one guy and have success.”

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