Seahawks' DK Metcalf sees funny side of tough matchup with Cowboys' DaRon Bland
DK Metcalf is coming off an underwhelming primetime performance in which he failed to overcome a tough cornerback matchup, and life is unlikely to get any easier for the Seattle Seahawks wide receiver. Metcalf was held to three receptions for 32 yards last Thursday as the Seahawks were swept aside 31-13 by the San Francisco […]
DK Metcalf is coming off an underwhelming primetime performance in which he failed to overcome a tough cornerback matchup, and life is unlikely to get any easier for the Seattle Seahawks wide receiver.
Metcalf was held to three receptions for 32 yards last Thursday as the Seahawks were swept aside 31-13 by the San Francisco 49ers on Thanksgiving Night. Niners cornerback Charvarius Ward was one of the stars of the show as he essentially locked down Metcalf.
This week, the Seahawks' second successive Thursday game sees Metcalf face a cornerback compiling a Defensive Player of the Year resume. Cowboys corner DaRon Bland has seven interceptions this season and last week against the Washington Commanders recorded a fifth pick-six of the year, an NFL record for a single season.
Bland also has six pass breakups and is Pro Football Focus' top-ranked corner by coverage grade. His passer rating allowed of 36.9 is the best in the NFL among corners with at least 200 coverage snaps.
Metcalf has just three touchdowns on the season and has only found the endzone once since doing so in primetime against the New York Giants in Week 4.
Yet he was able to see the funny side of the disparity between him and Bland in terms of scores.
Asked about Bland on Sunday, Metcalf laughed: "I was thinking like 'he's got more touchdowns than me'.
Expanding on Bland's strengths, Metcalf told reporters: "He does what the receivers should do and that’s shave angles and meet the ball, he does an exceptional job at that and it’s rare that you see a cornerback be able to track the ball and catch the ball like he does, he does it effortlessly.
"Him and (Stephon) Gilmore are a tandem and hate to see Trevon Diggs go down, my prayers go out to him on his road to recovery. But it seems like the next one up is duplicate of him so, got to shave angles."
But Metcalf won't be thinking too much about Bland this week, instead taking an insular approach to his attempts to bounce back from his frustrating Thanksgiving.
He added: "I get caught up in trying to do too much sometimes instead of just doing my job.
'That’s one thing I’m going to focus on this week is just doing my job and trying to execute the play to the best of my ability."
Seahawks bring in former Cowboys defender ahead of huge Dallas test
Could he provide some insider knowledge?
