As if DK Metcalf needed extra motivation to dominate the Philadelphia Eagles.
It's a well-known fact that the Eagles messed up in the 2019 NFL Draft by selecting J.J. Arcega-Whiteside with the No. 57 pick, before names like Diontae Johnson (No. 66), Terry McLaurin (No. 76) and, most notably, Metcalf at No. 64. And it's also known, now, that their decision to pass over him gives the star wideout a little extra fuel when the two teams face off.
But this isn't necessarily news, considering Metcalf exploded for 160 yards and a touchdown in last season's Wild Card game, marking his best outing as a professional and thrusting him into the national spotlight as a top receiver.
So, again, he didn't really need another reason to annihilate what could and should have been his home team. Still, in a characteristic move for the 2020 Eagles, they found a way to fire him up even more.
"One of the defensive coaches came up to me and it kinda made me mad that he was like, 'I was in Detroit with Megatron but you're not there yet,' " Metcalf said in the postgame press conference, later confirming that the coach was defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. "In my mind, I'm not trying to be Megatron. I'm trying to be me. So, I had a little chip on my shoulder the whole game."
He later reiterated that sentiment, despite the fact that Schwartz intended to compliment the 22-year-old, while also giving us a glimpse into his competitive edge on Twitter.
Thanks to that extra, extra chip on his shoulder, Metcalf erupted for 177 yards on 10 catches, making top cornerback Darius Slay look less like a top-five highest paid player at his position and more like a replacement-level defender. At least he fared better than Buccaneers' defender Carlton Davis.
Metcalf now leads all NFL receivers with 1,039 yards on the year and ranks fifth with nine touchdowns. Let's see how Metcalf and Megatron stack up through two years of their careers, though Metcalf's 2020 campaign still has a significant amount of time left.
Remarkably similar stats, though Metcalf has four fewer games to his name... interesting. And just for kicks, let's check in with J.J. Arcega-Whiteside to see how the two compare throughout the 2020 season:
Ah, yes. Hypothesis confirmed: the Eagles messed up just a tad. Can't wait to see how the next team unintentionally gets under Metcalf's skin en route to a 100-plus-yard performance.
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