Seahawks’ DK Metcalf responds to Shannon Sharpe’s criticism of late-game decision vs. Steelers: ‘Stop questioning me’

The Seahawks were able to take the Steelers to overtime during their “Sunday Night Football” clash, but they came within seconds of failing to make it to extra time. DK Metcalf made a critical choice not to step out of bounds on the second-to-last play of regulation that nearly lost the game for the Seahawks.

Metcalf isn’t exactly happy that he’s facing criticism for his decision, and he took his frustration out on NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe.

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Sharpe sent out a tweet on Monday morning wondering what Metcalf’s thought process was when he avoided going out of bounds.

 Metcalf came back at Sharpe with a punchy response.

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Metcalf can chirp all he wants, but Sharpe’s question has merit. Metcalf’s decision was certainly a curious one.

The Seahawks had the ball on Pittsburgh’s 35-yard line with no timeouts left and 18 seconds on the clock when Geno Smith found Metcalf open on the left sideline. Smith completed an easy pass to Metcalf, who was in 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 Seattle up for a field goal that would be 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 in 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 granted a reprieve when the referees called for Metcalf’s catch to be reviewed. That put three seconds on the clock and allowed Seattle to easily spike it and set up the game-tying score.

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Had the referees not called the review, Seattle probably still would have had time to spike the ball. They appeared to do so with one second left before the play was blown dead. Still, it was a very close call — one that could have been avoided if Metcalf stepped out of bounds.

Metcalf wasn’t asked about his decision after the game. It didn’t end up proving consequential in the game — the Seahawks lost 23-20 in overtime — but it’s a play that deserves to be scrutinized.