Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf departs win at Atlanta with knee injury

ATLANTA (AP) — DK Metcalf’s big game for Seattle ended when the star receiver was carted off the field in the fourth quarter with a knee injury.

Even with the Seahawks’ 34-14 win at Atlanta all but certain, the sight of Metcalf leaving the field on Sunday on a cart was deflating for quarterback Geno Smith.

“Man, my heart dropped,” Smith said.

Smith felt responsible for Metcalf's injury. He said he thought his sideline throw to Metcalf placed the wide receiver in a dangerous position.

“You know, I was over there just telling him, like, ‘Massages are on me through the week, man,’” Smith said. “You know, I put him in a tough spot right there. And whatever I've got to do to get him back healthy, however, we've got to get him back because he’s a guy that we need.”

Metcalf had four receptions for 99 yards and a touchdown before landing hard on the incompletion late in the third quarter. The Seahawks announced Metcalf was questionable to return shortly before he left the field on a cart.

Before being carted off, Metcalf tested the knee on the sideline. The team did not specify which knee was injured, but a trainer was seen examining Metcalf’s right leg on the sideline.

Coach Mike Macdonald said the initial outlook on Metcalf was encouraging.

“He banged up his knee a little bit, so I’m not sure of the severity,” Macdonald said. “We're optimistic at this point so it doesn't look too bad.”

Metcalf, a two-time All-Pro selection, has 35 catches for 568 yards and three touchdowns this season.

Metcalf's 31-yard touchdown catch late in the first half gave Seattle a 17-7 lead. The Seahawks kept their offense on the field with 10 seconds remaining instead of going for a field goal. Smith connected with Metcalf under the goal posts.

“We've shown over the course of the three years I've been here we're going to take that shot if it's available,” Smith said.

“The protection was great. DK ran a great route and we were able to get it in the end zone.”

The Seahawks (4-3) snapped a three-game losing streak.

“We came out and played very hungry today from the start to the finish,” Smith said. “It would have been easy for everyone to be negative after losing three games but I think the energy was spectacular.”

Smith passed for 207 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Kenneth Walker III overcame flu symptoms which had him added to the injury report on Saturday by rushing for 69 yards and a touchdown and adding two catches for 24 yards and a score.

“I was iffy,” Walker said when asked about his status before the game. “Our training staff did a great job of helping me.”

Macdonald said Walker “was pretty sick, but he pulled through it.”

Smith said players would remember the performance as Walker's “flu game.”

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Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf (14) can not make a catch as Atlanta Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell (24) defends during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/ Brynn Anderson )

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf (14) makes a catch for a touchdown as Atlanta Falcons safety Jessie Bates III (3) defends during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/ Mike Stewart )

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf (14) makes a catch as Atlanta Falcons safety Justin Simmons (31) defends during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/ Brynn Anderson )

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf (14) scors a touchdown as Atlanta Falcons safety Jessie Bates III (3) defends during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/ Brynn Anderson)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)