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Wide receiver DK Metcalf offered some advice to Shannon Sharpe.
The Seattle Seahawks got to take the Pittsburgh Steelers to overtime during their Sunday Night Football clash, but they came within seconds of failing to make it to extra time. Metcalf made a critical choice not to step out of bounds on the second-to-last play of regulation that nearly lost the game to the Seahawks.
Metcalf is not exactly happy that he is facing criticism for his decision, and he took his frustration out on NFL Hall of Famer Sharpe.
The former tight end sent out a tweet Monday morning wondering what Metcalf's thought process was when he avoided going out of bounds.
Metcalf returned to Sharpe with a punchy response.
Metcalf can chirp all he wants, but Sharpe's question has merit. Metcalf's decision was certainly a curious one.
Metcalf's polemic decision
The Seahawks had the ball on the Steelers' 35-yard line with no timeouts left and 18 seconds on the clock when quarterback Geno Smith found Metcalf open on the left sideline. Smith completed an easy pass to Metcalf, who was between two defenders and had a clear lane out of bounds.
Metcalf could have easily stepped out of bounds to stop the clock. That would have set the Seahawks up for a field goal of about 40 yards in length.
Inexplicably, Metcalf decided to try to gain more yardage. He avoided going out of bounds and fumbled the ball. Seahawks receiver Freddie Swain jumped on it to keep the ball on Seattle's possession.
However, the team had to scramble to spike the ball, as the clock was running with 11 seconds left. The Seahawks were lucky when the referees called for a review of Metcalf's catch. That put three seconds on the clock and allowed the Seahawks to spike the ball quickly and efficiently set up the game-tying score.
The Seahawks probably would not have had time to spike the ball if the referees had not called the review. They appeared to do so with one second left before the play was blown dead. Still, it was a very close call. One that Metcalf could have avoided if the wide receiver had simply stepped out of bounds.
Journalists did not ask Metcalf about his decision after the game, which is strange, since it is a play that fans and the media scrutinized at the time and will continue to examine for a while.
