PHILADELPHIA — During his short time with the Eagles, Darius Slay’s confidence has been clear. He believes he’s one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL. He believes he plays like. His light-hearted yet self-assured personality showcases that belief.
It stood out when a reporter asked Slay late Monday night whether the Eagles discussed giving him help with Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf, who spent the previous few hours scorching Slay and the Eagles secondary.
“Hell nah, I don’t need no help,” Slay responded. “What kind of question is that? Next one.”
But while Slay doesn’t believe he needed any additional help with Metcalf, he admitted that he didn’t do enough. The stat sheet reflects that. Metcalf had 10 catches for a career-high 177 yards. He helped set up both Seahawks touchdowns, which were key in Seattle jumping out to an early lead Philadelphia couldn’t overcome.
The Eagles lost, 23-17, and Slay felt responsible for the result.
“It was a great battle,” Slay said. “I won’t say it was difficult, it’s just that I lost every 50-50 ball today. I’m usually on the other side of that. Today, I’m on the other side of it. I let the team down. I told the defense, that game was on me. I got to play better, but props to DK for giving me the good work. We competing every play, but yeah, I lost every 50-50 ball. I got to be better.”
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Metcalf’s 10 catches came on 13 targets, and many of those catches came with Slay draped over him. Early in the fourth quarter, Metcalf caught a 31-yarder from Russell Wilson up the left sideline with Slay right on his hip and their arms intertwined. That is how the night went for Slay.
And even less than an hour removed from the final listen, Slay could not remember another game where he performed in that fashion.
“It was tough, you know what I’m saying, feeling like the plays weren’t going my way, but he did a great job of catching the ball,” Slay said. “He did everything good as a receiver, so I say this was by far my worst game I ever played in the league. I really, like truly, lost almost every 50-50 ball. I was probably oh-for. I’ve never been that. But props to him. He played his ass off today, and I just got to get better.”
Metcalf is a tough matchup for any cornerback in the NFL at 6-foot-4, 229 pounds with 4.33-second speed in the 40-yard dash. Rams star Jalen Ramsey kept him in check earlier this season, but for most of the year, it’s been a question of when, not if, Metcalf makes a play.
On Monday night, that came in the second quarter when Metcalf beat Slay for 52 yards to set up Seattle’s first touchdown of the game. Slay said the Eagles were blitzing, so he expected Wilson to get rid of the ball quickly, and he waited around the first-down marker. But Wilson hung in, took a hit from defensive end Brandon Graham and was able to push the ball downfield to Metcalf, who was dragged down at the Philadelphia 1.
Metcalf had a 17-yard catch and drew an illegal contact penalty to help set up the Seahawks’ second touchdown of the game that put them up 14-0 in the second quarter.
“I mean, I’m a man about what I do,” Slay said. “I’m always feeling great. I’m not always in a bad mood, a bad spirit, but I understand I got great ownership. I know that I can change the game and I know I could have helped, so I put that game on me because I’m supposed to do my job and shut him down.”
The night got off to a chippy start, too. Slay was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty when he and Metcalf scuffled after the whistle following a run play. Then, Eagles defensive tackle Malik Jackson was called for unnecessary roughness when he shoved Metcalf in the back after the next play.
Metcalf, a second-year pro the Eagles passed on in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft in favor of J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, found some extra motivation, too. He told reporters that Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz told him before the game that he “was good, but wasn’t Megatron yet.” Megatron refers to former Lions superstar Calvin Johnson, who Schwartz coach in Detroit.
Schwartz’s comments — he spoke with Metcalf before and after the game — were meant as compliments. Metcalf, though, channeled them into something more. And Slay ended up on the other side of that.
When the Eagles overhauled their secondary this offseason, much of it centered on Slay being a shutdown corner who could take away an opposing team’s top option. For much of the season, that has been the case. But Monday night, an opposing No. 1 got the best of Slay on a consistent basis. And for the 29-year-old, that can’t happen.
“He just made more plays than I did, and I take a real big ownership, man, because I feel like I’m one of the best in the game,” Slay said. “And I’m going to continue to always take my ownership, and I just say he got the best of me today, but I’m looking forward to going to work next week, go to work this week and get better man, for the team, because they deserve it, I deserve it, and this organization do.”
Daniel Gallen covers the Philadelphia Eagles for PennLive. He can be reached at dgallen@pennlive.com. You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook. Follow PennLive’s Philadelphia Eagles coverage on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.