The NFL doesn’t typically hand out punishments for in-game misbehavior until the following Saturday, but there are some cases so obvious that the coming discipline can be foreseen and predicted.
Such was the case in the “Sunday Night Football” matchup between the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks, during which wide receiver DK Metcalf went after linebacker Quay Walker following a play in the fourth quarter. Metcalf grabbed Walker’s face mask and screamed directly into it, after which referees flagged the Seahawks wideout for unnecessary roughness.
“DK grabbed my face mask. I wanted to retaliate,” Walker told “The Speakeasy” podcast on Sunday night following the game. “I was just like, ‘I can’t do that no more.’ I matured a whole lot.”
Walker’s maturity and patience not only helped the Packers gain a 15-yard advantage at a crucial point in a road game the team ended up winning by 10 points, but it will also keep his pocketbook in tact when the NFL’s disciplinary office reviews fineable actions for Week 8. Metcalf, on the other hand, isn’t going to be so lucky.
Officials flagged Metcalf for unnecessary roughness, for which the level of financial punishment can vary depending on the severity and nature of the play in question and a player’s history of fineable behavior. Metcalf is almost certainly going to face a fine, which could range from the high four-figures all the way up to an amount of approximately $20,000 based on the unnecessary roughness fines the league handed out for Week 7.
Packers, Steelers Matchup Was Volatile for Most of Night
Getty Linebacker Quay Walker of the Green Bay Packers.
The game overall was chippy and will likely result in several fines for multiple players on both sidelines. For instance, Metcalf’s unnecessary roughness penalty was the second such incident within a three-minute span of game time in the fourth quarter alone.
Emotions were perhaps higher because Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was squaring off against his old team for the first time since departing Green Bay following the 2022 campaign. Rodgers played for the Packers for 18 seasons, winning four MVPs and a Super Bowl title.
Rodgers’ first contest against Green Bay was a dominant storyline leading into the matchup, though no one on either side publicly expressed any animosity. In fact, it was quite the opposite.
Still, Rodgers’ old teammates undoubtedly wanted to win the game, and it perhaps meant even more to them because of the circumstances. Based on that line of logic, it is possible that Rodgers’ new teammates had a little extra fire for the same reasons.
Jordan Love Out-Dueled Former Teammate Aaron Rodgers on ‘Sunday Night Football’
GettyQuarterback Jordan Love of the Green Bay Packers (left) embraces quarterback Aaron Rodgers of the Pittsburgh Steelers (right).
While that is merely educated speculation, what is certain is that the Packers (5-1-1) held onto the lead in the NFC with their victory, while Pittsburgh (4-3) lost its second consecutive game as well as ground to AFC opponents, including the Baltimore Ravens within the division.
The Packers hung 35 points on the Steelers behind 360 passing yards and three touchdowns from quarterback Jordan Love, who replaced Rodgers as the team’s starter three years ago.
Meanwhile, Rodgers threw for 219 yards and two scores in what has been a resurgent campaign for the 41-year-old following two disappointing seasons with the New York Jets.
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