For the first time in his five-year NFL career, Seahawks receiver DK Metcalf had to accept the role of spectator on Sunday, sitting out due to hip and rib injuries.
Well, sort of.
Metcalf remained an active presence on the Seattle sideline, congratulating Jake Bobo on his second-quarter touchdown that gave Seattle a 20-10 win over Arizona and offering advice throughout the season.
Postgame coverage Seahawks 20, Cardinals 10
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“With a guy like DK on the sideline and his football IQ, I just pick his brain,” Bobo said. “‘What do you see from 20, what do you see from 24?’ He will give me his diagnosis and we will go from there. But yes, that [after the TD] “It was just a congratulation.”
The team listed Metcalf as questionable for Friday’s game.
He had limited practice on Friday and held his usual weekly news conference on Wednesday, which appeared to be signs that he could still play, as did his history – he has been nursing a rib injury since the Detroit game.
But coach Pete Carroll said Friday that a hip injury Metcalf suffered in last Sunday’s 17-13 loss at Cincinnati was now the bigger problem, calling it a mid-game decision.
And sure enough, 90 minutes before kickoff, he was declared one of the team’s seven inactives, snapping a streak of 71 consecutive games played.
“He hurts,” Carroll said after the game. “If he could have played, he would have played.”
Then Carroll voluntarily denied that Metcalf’s suspension had anything to do with him other than being injured. Metcalf said somewhat defiantly on Wednesday that he intends to continue playing as he has, even though he has received five penalties this season, four of them fines.
“Don’t think for a second that he’s looking for a way out of this,” Carroll said. “That’s not him at all. He’s sick, he couldn’t play. He tried to stick with it. He has played under enormous pressure in recent weeks and played well under the circumstances. It just added up too much and he couldn’t do it.”
Regarding next Sunday’s game against Cleveland, Carroll said: “When he comes back, he will be back.”
Carroll was impressed when Smith went up
Geno Smith may not have played his cleanest game with two turnovers – an interception and a fumble.
But few doubted his determination Sunday, as evidenced when he jumped and eventually flipped as he tried to get into the end zone in a 5-yard scramble that converted a third-and-five in the third quarter .
In the end, Smith stayed a meter behind – and fell on his teammate Kenneth Walker III.
“That was crazy,” Walker said. “He actually landed on me.”
Carroll said: “That was a great play. A great piece. … Great effort. It shows who he is and how willing he is to do whatever it takes.”
Carroll said he didn’t think to question whether Smith went in because getting to the 1 gave Seattle a first down.
“We thought we were going to make it,” Carroll said. “I was just glad he stood up to tell the truth.”
Unfortunately, Walker went for a gain and then a loss of 1, and on third down a pass to Colby Parkinson also went for a loss of 1, forcing Seattle to settle for a Jason Myers field goal and Smith’s attempt somewhat to do for free.
“They did a good job keeping us out,” Smith said. “They were strong up front. And that’s something again, like I said: We have to be better in the red zone. We have to improve our performance. I have to help us in any way I can in such situations. And those are things that, like I said, you can look at and say, ‘Man, we’re one of the best offenses and we haven’t peaked yet.’ That’s the positive, in my opinion. We have to look at it half full here.”
Brooks takes the penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct
One of the strangest sequences of the game occurred in the second quarter when Seattle rookie Devon Witherspoon intercepted a pass from Joshua Dobbs and then let it run out of the end zone. He was tackled on the Arizona side of the field and there was some pushing and shoving. As an official tried to break up a scuffle between Seattle linebacker Jordyn Brooks and Arizona starting left tackle DJ Humphries, Humphries’ hand hit the official in the head. Brooks caused a personal foul while Humphries was sent off.
But it turned out that none of that mattered as the move had been declared void due to a penalty against Boye Mafe for gross violence against the passer.
Carroll said he hadn’t seen it enough to comment. Arizona coach Jonathan Gannon said: “You know, I didn’t see it. They told me he touched an officer.”
Brooks said: “I saw men everywhere. Bobby [Wagner] lay on the ground. Devon was on the ground. So I had to break it up. I pushed a guy, he pushed me back, and yeah, I got the call. That’s up to me.”
Remarks
– Carroll said the only injury in the game was suffered by fullback Uchenna Nwosu, who left the game in the second quarter with a pectoral muscle strain and did not return. Carroll said he didn’t know if the injury would keep Nwosu out of action in the future.
— Seahawks safety Jamal Adams said he had no real comment on Friday’s news that he had been fined $50,000 by the NFL for interfering with an independent concussion doctor on the sidelines during the Cincinnati game .
“It is what it is,” he said. “I won’t talk about it. I’m happy about the victory. This is an NFL situation.”
– Seattle’s other inactive players included starting player Evan Brown, who was dealing with a hip injury. Carroll said Brown “should have a chance to come back next week.” Rookie Olu Oluwatimi, a fifth-round pick from Michigan, made his first NFL start in his place.
“I felt [he played] solid,” Carroll said. “I mishandled a snapshot [the fumble in the fourth quarter]. But other than that I felt like he was fine.”
– Arizona’s last chance to make it a game fell by the wayside when the Cardinals failed on a fake punt from Seattle’s 49 on a fourth-and-nine with 4:58 left. Arizona had backup QB Clayton Tune in the game, and after the Cardinals lined up in punt formation, the team went on offense and Tune threw a pass to Michael Wilson. But he was only targeted by a 4-yard gain. Seattle took the lead at its own 45-yard line and scored a field goal that made the score 20-10.
“Just a call from me,” Gannon said. “Thank you. They made the play. You have to live with these decisions. I like the call and ultimately it’s up to me. We did not make it.”
Bob Condotta: 206-515-5699 or [email protected]; on twitter: @bcondotta. Bob Condotta covers the Seahawks for the Seattle Times. He reports on the team daily throughout the year.