PHILADELPHIA — Deep into the fourth quarter on Sunday — after making yet another acrobatic catch, after allowing his Seattle Seahawks to run out the clock, after completing the most dominant performance by a rookie receiver in N.F.L. playoff history — DK Metcalf lifted himself off the ground and waved.
He waved at the Philadelphia Eagles fans, who had watched him torment their beloved team’s defense. He waved at the Eagles’ season, which ended with a 17-9 defeat to Metcalf and the Seahawks at Lincoln Financial Field. Maybe, just maybe, he also might have been waving at Philadelphia’s front office, reminding Eagles executives of what could emerge as a grave mistake.
With Metcalf still available, Philadelphia bypassed him in the second round of the N.F.L. draft in April, opting to select another tall receiver, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, with the 57th pick instead. Playing in an offense pummeled by injuries — including one to its quarterback, Carson Wentz, who lasted all of two drives before leaving Sunday’s game with a head injury — Arcega-Whiteside did not have a single pass thrown to him against Seattle.
Metcalf, taken seven picks later, at No. 64 over all, caught seven passes on Sunday for 160 yards, 53 of which came on a third-quarter touchdown in which he showcased the breadth of his skills: the speed to scoot past the secondary; the size (at 6 feet 4 inches and 229 pounds, his body carries less fat than a glass of water) to gain position; the awareness to bounce up after tumbling forward, untouched, inside the Philadelphia 10-yard line; and the strength to haul Avonte Maddox the final five yards into the end zone.
“He did some stuff that it’s hard to imagine anybody else doing,” Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll said.
The fifth-seeded Seahawks, who improved to 6-0 when playing in the Eastern time zone this season, advance to face the No. 2 seed in Green Bay next Sunday night. The ferocity of the Packers’ pass rush figures to challenge Seattle’s offensive line. Wilson, and Metcalf, seemed on Sunday to be immune from pressure. Wilson threw for 325 yards. Metcalf accounted for nearly half that total.
“It’s just amazing to be able to see him grow and expand his game,” Seattle receiver Tyler Lockett said of Metcalf, adding: “You can’t really pinpoint one specific area that he’s great in. He’s great in every area.”
As evidence, Wilson cited the quizzes on opponent scouting reports that Wilson gives and that Metcalf aces every week. They are part of a deep rapport the two men have developed that extends back to off-season workouts they shared in Los Angeles. What has accelerated Metcalf’s growth, Wilson said, is his mind.
“Nothing happens by accident,” Wilson said.
The Eagles held fast to that same belief across their final four regular season games, all victories, and the prevailing reason they were even playing on Sunday — why they clinched the N.F.C. East title, why they hosted a playoff game — clashed with what has become their standard operating procedure come January: Their quarterback was healthy.
Instead of starting a backup quarterback, the Eagles fielded a backup offense. But at least they had Wentz, who, after watching the last two postseasons unspool without him, molded misfits and castoffs into a function. On Sunday alone, Philadelphia played without six offensive starters from its season opener, while a seventh, tight end Zach Ertz, endured rib and kidney injuries to catch two passes for 44 yards.
Wentz had waited four seasons for his playoff debut. It lasted two drives. Once he departed, the Seahawks’ advantage at quarterback widened. Wilson dipped and darted, extending plays with his legs — he led Seattle with 45 rushing yards — before tormenting the Eagles with his right arm. Just before halftime, Wilson evaded the rush to connect with David Moore on third-and-10 for a 38-yard pass play that set up Marshawn Lynch’s 5-yard touchdown three plays later.
Seattle outlasted the fourth-seeded Eagles — by the same score, with the same result, as in the teams’ November meeting at Lincoln Financial Field — by twice stopping Philadelphia deep in their territory in the fourth quarter. On the first, Miles Sanders could not corral a low pass from Wentz’s replacement, Josh McCown. On the second, with just under two minutes remaining, McCown was sacked at the Seattle 10-yard line by Jadeveon Clowney, whose unpenalized helmet-to-helmet hit had knocked Wentz from the game in the first quarter.
“I was trying to get him down,” Clowney said of the hit on Wentz. “It was a bang-bang play. I don’t intend to hurt nobody in this league, let me just put that out there.”
Speaking to a pool reporter afterward, the referee, Shawn Smith, explained the no-call. “He was a runner and he did not give himself up,” Smith said of Wentz. “We saw incidental helmet contact and, in our judgment, we didn’t rule that to be a foul.”
Regardless of his intent, Clowney said he recognized how pivotal Wentz’s absence was.
“When you’ve got to play the backup quarterback,” Clowney said, “there’s only so many plays that they can run.”
The Eagles could not retain their Super Bowl savior from two years ago, Nick Foles, so they lured McCown out of retirement in August to join his ninth team. Thrust into the game on Philadelphia’s third series, McCown, 40, who hadn’t played since Week 6 or thrown a pass since Week 2, took the first playoff snaps of his career. McCown completed 18 of 24 passes for 175 yards.
“It’s tough, and we tried to pick up the slack,” safety Malcolm Jenkins said, before referring to Wentz. “It’s obviously out of his control. I know he probably feels like he let us down, but we wouldn’t be in this situation without him.” Still, the Eagles had one final chance to regain possession. Seattle faced third-and-10 at its 11 with 1:47 left. Rather than hand off the ball to grind the clock, Wilson launched a deep ball down the right side, toward Metcalf. Wilson has told him all season to attack the ball and Metcalf reached up to grab it at its apex, then fell backward.
“He’s like American Pharoah out there,” Wilson said. “He gets stronger as the race goes on.”
That he did. Metcalf then got up and waved to a stadium of forlorn fans glad to see him leave but that will see him again next season, when he can remind them once more of all they are missing.
Source: Football - nytimes.com
