How the 49ers Intend to Shut Down D.K. Metcalf

The 49ers couldn't stop D.K. Metcalf the last time they faced him.

The Seattle Seahawks wide receiver had 12 catches, 161 yards and two touchdowns against the 49ers during Week 8. So this week, for the 49ers to have any chance to beat the Seahawks in the season finale, they'll have to do a much better job defending Metcalf.

Duh.

On Thursday, I asked 49ers defensive coordinator what he learned from the first meeting with Metcalf this season, and why Saleh is confident the 49ers can shut him down.

Here's what Saleh said:

"Everyone talks about his size. The big thing we learned is that Russell Wilson is not afraid to throw those slants to Metcalf in the middle of the field. He's such a big body, he's darn near a tight end. When our safeties are coming out of the middle of the field, we call it, 'Getting on course,' and we have such respect for the strike zone -- below the neck and above the knee, making sure everything is legal, which we always will be. We do it to maintain a certain level of physicality.

"But when you do that on such a big body and a big human like D.K., it's almost not very good from the safety standpoint of the defensive back. So if Russell is going to continue to throw those things over the middle, we have to really lower our strike zone a lot more than what we normally teach in order to give ourselves a chance to defend him."

Translation: Cross the middle at your own risk, big guy.

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