When the Seahawks offense took the field late in the first quarter following a Dolphins field goal, Geno Smith and company were looking for to bounce back after an interception set up what wound up being Miami’s only score in the game.
And when Smith and receiver DK Metcalf recognized a particular coverage look from the Dolphins secondary, both players, who have the kind of chemistry that comes with six seasons playing together, quickly realized their bounce-back drive could be a quick one.
After running past cornerback Jalen Ramsey, Metcalf faked an in-breaking dig route that froze safety Jevon Holland, then was able to run past Holland to get wide open for a 71-yard touchdown that played a big role in Seattle’s 24-3 win over the Dolphins.
“That was a play that we had been repping all offseason, give DK the option to read that right there,” Smith said. “If we get the coverage we like, he’s going to take the top off it. So they were playing low quarters on that side; they play up half to the other side; we got the safety in the position we want him, and he really bit down on the dig route and DK was able is it get behind him. I thought the protection was great. Allowed us the extra second we needed to get ball downfield. That was a big play for us.”
A 71-yard touchdown is obviously a big play in any game, but it felt particularly important in the moment because it came on the heels of a turnover, and it also proved to be very valuable as the game went along and the Seahawks were unable to score again until late in the fourth quarter.
“Me and Geno have been working that certain route since training camp, and it just came to life today,” Metcalf said, adding that the final score mattered a lot more than any big plays individually. “If we didn’t win, we would have had a sour taste in our mouth after the second and third quarter that we had out there. Winning takes care of a lot of mistakes, but you can’t overlook them or sweep them under the rug. You’ve got to be professionals and be the type of team that fixes those mistakes and moves on and improves throughout the season.”