Whenever San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan identifies a weakness in an opponent, you can be sure he's prepared to exploit it. This past Sunday, the focal point of that vulnerability was the fiery Seattle Seahawks wide receiver, DK Metcalf.
According to Michael Silver of the San Francisco Chronicle, Shanahan predicted a meltdown from Metcalf during a team meeting on Saturday night at the hotel. The coach reportedly shared video clips of Metcalf's past tirades to show his team that getting under the receiver's skin isn't hard.
"We will get '14' to lose his mind," Shanahan told his team, per Silver.
The reporter notes that the coach then, perhaps jokingly, added, "Christmas present for whoever gets him."
Maybe Fred Warner should expect something from Santa Shanahan under his Christmas tree this year. Warner was the catalyst that triggered Metcalf, leading to a scuffle after Warner intercepted a pass thrown by Drew Lock in the fourth quarter that was intended for the receiver.
After Warner lateraled the football to a teammate, Metcalf tackled him. When Warner got up, he gave a little shove to the back of Metcalf's head, setting the receiver off. Soon, 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir got involved, resulting in Metcalf and Lenoir being ejected from the game.
"If you want to call it frustration, yeah, it was frustration," Metcalf said after the game. "But from my side, he hit me in the back of the head. So I just retaliated from that."
Warner's side of the story included a tongue-in-cheek response, with the linebacker saying, "Yeah, I don't know what happened, man. I told him he tackles really well, and then for some reason, he didn't like that. I guess what happened, happened, and it's unfortunate. (He's) got to learn to keep his composure, but happy we came out with the dub."
The 49ers' 28-16 win over the Seahawks, coupled with the Dallas Cowboys beating the Philadelphia Eagles, has situated the team into the top spot in the NFC playoff standings. If San Francisco wins out, it is assured home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
