Richard Sherman's side of the story to post-game confrontation with Trent Williams

LANDOVER, Md. — So exactly what words were exchanged during the postgame mingling at FedExField that prompted Washington's Trent Williams to smack Seattle's Richard Sherman in the face?

Well, Sherman, the edgy Seahawks cornerback, has his version.

"He came up and tapped me, 'What's up now? I'll swing on you'," Sherman told USA TODAY Sports after the Seahawks' 24-14 NFC wild-card playoff victory.

This would seem to suggest that somebody said something during the game.

In any event, Sherman says he called Williams' bluff.

"Swing!" Sherman said he told Williams in a daring tone. "He told me was going to swing, and he swung. That's what he did, and that's that. He thought I was going to be scared. I'm not scared."

Williams, 6-5 and 325 pounds, landed a right-hand smash to Sherman's face. The players were quickly separated before the situation could escalate.

From a safer distance as Williams was restrained, Sherman waved bye-bye.

Was this entire incident an indication of how Sherman – who jawed at Tom Brady after Seattle upset the New England Patriots in October – gets under his opponents' skin?

"I guess so," he said. "You know, the playoffs, everybody gets a little frustrated. You lose, your season's over. I guess you can call it frustration. But you never want to be involved in that. I wasn't looking for anything. I was trying to shake hands. That's how it happens sometimes."