DK Metcalf sets NFL record for most receiving yards for a player in his first playoff game

DK Metcalf (Twitter)

It was a memorable Sunday for Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf of Oxford, Mississippi. The University of Mississippi product set the NFL record for most receiving yards by a player in his first postseason game. Metcalf had 160 receiving yards as the Seahawks defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 17-9 in the NFC Wildcard Game.

Metcalf also had seven receptions and one touchdown. The major score came on a 53 yard pass from Russell Wilson at 6:14 of the third quarter and put the Seahawks up 16-6 at the time.  Jeremy Maclin of the Eagles had the old record of 146 yards, which was set on January 9, 2009. Ironically, the Seahawks also beat the Eagles 17-9 during the regular season in Philadelphia on November 24.

A major turning point in the wildcard matchup on Sunday between the Seahawks and Eagles came in the first quarter when Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz left the game after being a recipient of a hit to the head by Seahawks defensive end Jadeveon Clowney. No penalty on the play was given to Clowney, as in the opinion of the referees, Wentz was a runner on the play and there was “incidental helmet contact.”

Seattle will now play the Green Bay Packers next weekend in the NFC Divisional Playoff. The Minnesota Vikings will play the San Francisco 49ers in the other second round NFC playoff game. On Sunday, the Vikings defeated the New Orleans Saints 26-20 in overtime in the other NFC Wildcard game.

In fact it was the first time in NFL history, that there were two wildcard games in the same year that went to overtime. On Saturday, the Houston Texans came back from a 16-0 deficit to beat the Buffalo Bills 22-19 in extra time in one of two AFC Wildcard Games. In the other AFC Wildcard matchup, Derrick Henry ran for 182 yards in a 20-13 Tennessee win over New England.

Henry’s 182 yards was the 15th most rushing yards by a player in a NFL postseason game and most rushing yards by a Titans player in a playoff game. Eric Dickerson of the Los Angeles Rams has the NFL record for most rushing yards in a playoff game as he had 248 yards in a 20-0 Rams win over the Dallas Cowboys on January 4, 1986. The AFC Divisional Playoff matches next weekend have Tennessee playing Baltimore and Houston playing Kansas City.