HOUSTON – John Metchie III generated enough acceleration and explosion in a hurry as he crisply broke into his route inside the red zone, creating separation and a prime passing lane for quarterback C.J. Stroud to deliver a strike.
The touchdown catch Sunday night as he beat Detroit Lions rookie corner Terrion Arnold, a fellow Alabama football alum, represented more than a routine score for the Texans’ wide receiver. It marked a milestone as his first NFL touchdown and Metchie’s first score altogether since tearing his anterior cruciate ligament while competing for the Crimson Tide in the 2021 Southeastern Conference championship game.
Years after ringing the bell at MD Anderson Cancer Center to celebrate winning his inspirational battle with acute promyelocytic leukemia and missing his entire rookie season, the former second-round draft pick delivered his trademark stamp on a score that was a long time in the making. Metchie broke out his Karate Kid style crane kick in unison with running back Joe Mixon to soak up the moment.
What Metchie, a former Ed Block Courage award winner, said he wasn’t thinking about was significant, too. His personal medical ordeal isn’t at the front of his mind. It’s behind him and part of his story.
“It means a lot, but not more emotional than anything,” Metchie said. “I’ve kind of put that behind me, and my focus is just helping this team win. I know my past is my past and my history is my history. I live it, but it’s not on the forefront of my mind every day. My focus is on what I could do to be the best version of myself and to help the team win.”
Although the score from Metchie didn’t come in a victory as the Texans lost their second primetime game in a row with the Lions scoring 19 unanswered points in the second half of a 26-23 win at NRG Stadium, his contributions provided a spark. He set career-highs with five catches for 74 yards and a touchdown on six targets as star wide receiver Nico Collins was held out of the game as a precautionary measure despite being activated from injured reserve.
Going forward, having Metchie as a factor in the Texans’ passing game could provide a boost to an offense that was stagnant after halftime against Detroit. While Collins is back for a Monday night game against the Dallas Cowboys, Stefon Diggs is out for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament. The Texans need a reliable third option at receiver after Collins and Tank Delll.
“He did really well,” Stroud said. “Big-time for us. Ran a lot of crisp routes, caught the ball, I’m super proud of him and super happy that he’s getting his opportunities and showing his worth.”
A former second-round draft pick, Metchie has nine receptions for 110 yards and the one score this season on 13 targets. He now has 25 career receptions for 268 yards.
Metchie caught 96 receptions for 1,142 yards and eight touchdowns as a junior at Alabama in 2021, but tore a knee ligament in the SEC championship game on Dec. 4, 2021. He finished his college career with 155 catches for 2,081 yards and 14 touchdowns.
“Really proud of Metchie,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “He stepped up big for us. Got his first touchdown. Really big plays he made for us, really love the play where he’s blocking downfield. He played a really good game. Excited to see him continue to improve off what he did tonight.”
Besides his 15-yard touchdown catch, Metchie had a 25-yard reception to set up his score.
“It felt great,” Metchie said. “God is great, it was just a lot of hard work and trying to be consistent.”
After the touchdown, Metchie didn’t hold back on the fun.
Metchie had a fun moment with wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson before his exuberant karate kick with Mixon and a special handshake with Stroud. It wasn’t about doing the signature move with former Alabama teammate Jameson Williams playing against him for Detroit.
“It wasn’t really much at thought,” Metchie said. “It was just part of me and Joe’s handshake. Honestly, I’ve probably been doing it around at practice and throughout training camp and stuff. It’s just a part of handshakes here and there.”
Metchie caught 16 passes for 158 yards last season during the regular season. Then, he caught three passes for 44 yards in an AFC wild-card playoff victory over the Cleveland Browns.
The touchdown was textbook route-running and smooth hands after some drops during the preseason.
“The thing that stood out about Metchie is just his progression over these past few weeks, just seeing him play with more speed, jumping off the football, running his routes, being more decisive with his route running, and also just beating man coverage with his feet,” Ryans said. “He took the coaching points, he took it to the field, and he executed the right way. He showed up and made plays, especially big on third down.
“We knew they would play aggressive man coverage going into the game, so we talked about it all week. You’re going to have to make competitive catches, and that’s no better play made than in the end zone on the touchdown. The defender has his hands in there, but he goes up, aggressive hands, and makes a competitive catch. So, I’m just really proud of just his improvement and him taking the coaching, taking the practice to the field on Sunday.”
Taking this game and using it as a springboard for future contributions and, perhaps, an increased role could be in the offing for Metchie. He just needs to keep it up.
“It’s always great to help be able to contribute to the offense and help the team score points, help the offense score points, just contribute to winning, and that’s kind of all I want to do,” Metchie said. “I think it’s just do your job when your name is called: ‘Are you ready to get your job done when the opportunity presents itself?’ I don’t think I did anything super spectacular aside from doing my job, honestly. I was just being where I was supposed to be and making the plays I was supposed to make.
“I think it’s just controlling what you can control and that’s kind of how I show up every day and how I use every day to get better. As far as the fruits of labor, I think a lot of that is under God, His timing, and you can’t control any of that. What you can do is just how you show up every day and how you use every 24 hours that you have.”
Metchie was in the fight of his life when he battled leukemia. While Metchie wondered if he would play football again, he could see where he wanted to go a few miles away at NRG Stadium.
Metchie experienced the gamut of emotions, including doubt. Ultimately, his faith and determination brought him back to the game and he is working to build his role within the Texans’ offense after spending the year on the non-football illness list.
Metchie is a native of Canada who attended high school in the United States in Maryland and New Jersey before earning a football scholarship to Alabama and whose family originally moved from Ghana, is soaking up every moment.
And Metchie has inspired his teammates.
“I would say he’s a good teammate to have,” wide receiver Robert Woods said. “I know he’s younger, but he’s also a role model to me, somebody who pushes through and doesn’t let outside factors, outside struggles ever get him down. He’s a very positive person. Seeing him battle cancer and his treatment and being able to bounce back from an early hamstring injury and getting back to make plays, he’s very inspiring to us and hopefully all of Houston as well.”
During his medical crisis, Metchie leaned heavily on his faith, his family, his friends, the Texans, Alabama coach Nick Saban and his former college teammates.
He was initially diagnosed after dealing with cold symptoms and a recurring headache.
According to medical journals, APL is a “unique subtype of acute myeloid leukemia with cells in the bone marrow that produce blood cells (red cells, white cells, and platelets) that do not develop and function normally. APL begins with one or more acquired changes (mutations) to the DNA of a single blood-forming cell. APL cells have a very specific abnormality that involves chromosomes 15 and 17, leading to the formation of an abnormal fusion gene PML/RARα. This mutated gene causes many of the features of the disease.”
And Metchie wondered and prayed and thought deeply about a lot of things, including whether he would make it back from this medical ordeal. What was going to happen to him? Would he ever regain his health and his old life?
“I guess an answer to tie into that is faith, right?” Metchie said. “One of the most curable forms of cancer, but very tough at the beginning. So, I was very blessed and grateful to have one of the most curable forms of cancer. As you saw, I didn’t lose my hair and a lot of stuff like that. So, I was very grateful and very blessed for that,
“You can only rely on your faith in those situations. In situations where you are forced to be faced with your own mortality, you see what it is you really believe in and who it is you really believe in. So, my faith in God is really what kept me comfortable in a belief that this was all for a greater purpose and a bigger reason.”
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Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com
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