Why haven’t Seahawks had Russell Wilson throw to DK Metcalf like for that TD more often?
It looked so effortless. It was so effective.
So why hasn’t Russell Wilson simply thrown the ball up for DK Metcalf like he did for a touchdown on third down in the first quarter Sunday, a pass that gave the Seahawks the early lead in the snow on the Chicago Bears?
Well, had Wilson and the offense gotten the look they got on third and 5 from the Bears 41 on their second drive of the game at Lumen Field all season, Seattle’s quarterback would have thrown to Metcalf 200 times by now this season.
The Seahawks got a day-after-Christmas gift from Chicago.
Metcalf got Thomas Graham lined up on him one on one in press coverage at the line of scrimmage. The Bears drafted Graham in the sixth round this past spring. The rookie is five inches shorter than Metcalf.
Yet the Bears left Graham alone on a snow-covered field with no safety help covering the deep pass down the right sideline 6 minutes into Sunday’s game. Wilson likely couldn’t believe his eyes seeing that opportunity. The quarterback took a couple steps of a drop back and was throwing all the way to Metcalf. He threw a jump ball that the 6-foot-4 receiver easily out-leaped Graham to get for a 41-yard touchdown.
Metcalf extended his team lead with his ninth touchdown catch of the season.
Five days earlier, Metcalf had been visibly frustrated not getting the ball from Wilson on multiple plays when he was open deep at the Los Angeles Rams. Wilson underthrew Metcalf when he was 5 yards past Rams All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey with 8 minutes left in Tuesday’s game. A decent pass would have tied that game Seattle ended up losing 20-10.
Wilson also had his arm hit while trying to throw to the end zone to an in-the-clear Metcalf late in the first quarter. That pass flailed accidentally to tight end Gerald Everett for a 34-yard gain to set up Seattle’s only points, a field goal, of the first half against the Rams Tuesday.
Sunday’s easy pitch and catch in the snow was Wilson’s 17th touchdown pass of the season, against five interceptions.
Collins, Hyder back but inactive
Running back Alex Collins and defensive end Kerry Hyder joined top wide receiver Tyler Lockett in coming off the reserve/COVID-19 list in time to play Sunday.
But only Lockett did.
Collins, the Seahawks’ season rushing leader, and Hyder were inactive for the game.
So were injured rookie linebacker Jon Rhattigan, third quarterback Jacob Eason and third center Dakoda Shepley.
Rhattigan injured the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee in the Rams game last week.
Lockett and Collins missed that game as one of 11 Seahawks that went on the COVID-19 list the last two weeks.
This story was originally published December 26, 2021 at 2:02 PM.
