DK Metcalf: Rams coaches yelled at him on latest taunting penalty; ‘I let that get to me’
Yet again, particularly with a game not going his Seahawks’ way, DK Metcalf lost his cool.
The NFL knows well by now that Seattle’s 25-year-old star receiver is quite capable of that.
On the first play after the underdog Los Angeles Rams humbled the Seahawks by taking a 27-13 lead with 5 minutes left in L.A.’s victorious NFL season opener Sunday at Lumen Field, Metcalf kept blocking Rams cornerback Akhello Witherspoon after a short pass play to tight end Colby Parkinson.
Witherspoon, a one-time Seahawk teammate, stayed down injured following the play. Metcalf stayed fired up on the field during the injury time out. Coaches and players on the Rams’ sideline yelled at Metcalf.
Metcalf yelled back.
Officials then flagged one of the league’s leaders in penalties the last couple seasons for his latest penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct, this one for taunting well over a minute after the previous play had ended.
“Well, I was blocking, and I guess I blocked him a little too hard and pushed him to the ground,” Metcalf said. “He got all mad because he felt like I blocked him in the back. I mean, that’s just how I play. I block every play, and when I don’t have the ball, I’m never taking a play off or jogging trying to take a play off.
“So, that’s what transpired.”
What did officials tell him was unsportsmanlike about his actions?
“I saw their coaches yelling at me or saying something to me and their players,” Metcalf said. “I let that get to me, and I retaliated.
“You know, the second man always gets called, so, just have to be better in that aspect.”
Instead of second and 2, the Seahawks were backed up to second and 17 at their own 28-yard line. Geno Smith then got sacked on consecutive plays. On a gross fourth and 34, the Seahawks punted down 14 with 3 1/2 minutes to go.
Two plays later, defensive captain Quandre Diggs lost his steadiness. He got called for unnecessary roughness and another 15-yard penalty on the Seahawks. Third and 10 for the Rams became first down, and the Seahawks’ last hope to get the ball back was gone.
Much like Sunday for Seattle.
Coach Pete Carroll called the penalties a bad look, to say the least.
“I thought we lost our minds a little bit,” Carroll said, “and we’ll talk about that.
“That shows you the frustration and based on the expectation that we were going to be better and not in that situation.
“I don’t like seeing this look. That looks terrible. We’ll talk about that. That’s not something that I’m concerned about. We were in that position and we’ve got to make better decisions.”
Captain Bobby Wagner has been a mentor for Metcalf since the wide receiver entered the league with the Seahawks as their second-round pick in 2019.
Wagner was asked after the team’s loss Sunday if he talked to Metcalf about his penalty,
“Yeah, we addressed that,” Wagner said. “So, we’re good.”
Metcalf was asked if Wagner talked to him.
“No, sir,” he said. “Not yet.”
Metcalf had three catches on five targets by Smith, for 47 yards and Seattle’s only touchdown Sunday. That was a 10-yard score that put the Seahawks ahead 10-7 in the second quarter.
A pattern
Metcalf has been drawing the league’s and officials’ attention the last few years.
Last season officials flagged him for eight penalties, the most on any receiver in the NFL in 2022. Two were for unsportsmanlike conduct and one was for taunting.
Last November, the NFL fined Metcalf $29,785 for yelling and pointing in what appeared to be the direction of NFL 15-year veteran side judge Allen Baynes, after officials did not penalize Tampa Bay cornerback Jamel Dean for some contact during Geno Smith’s throw toward Metcalf. The play was at the goal line in the third quarter of a 14-0 game in Munich Seattle went on to lose 21-16 on Nov. 13.
In November 2021 he was ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct after fighting with Green Bay’s Darnell Savage late in Seattle’s frustrating, 17-0 loss at the Packers.
“I’ve gotta grow up,” Metcalf said three days after that ejection.
Also in 2021 officials penalized Metcalf for unsportsmanlike conduct in Seattle’s win over Jacksonville and taunting in his team’s opening win at Indianapolis. That latter penalty came as Metcalf’s then-teammate Gerald Everett was scoring a touchdown. Metcalf was woofing into the face of a Colts player about the score. They were well behind the play.
Metcalf said Seahawks coach Pete Carroll talked to him after each of those three penalties last season about not letting emotions and opponents take him out of his game.
In 2020 Metcalf got an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty during the Seahawks’ blowout win over the New York Jets. That was for comically jumping into a concrete well behind the end zone at Lumen Field after he caught a touchdown pass from Russell Wilson then commandeering a television camera.
He got fined $6,131 for that.
This story was originally published September 10, 2023 at 7:11 PM.
