Gerry Dulac: DK Metcalf wasn't the only one who made poor choices that hurt the Steelers

Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Dec 30, 2025

Published in Football

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

PITTSBURGH — Poor decisions are beginning to plague the Steelers, and they're not limited to what DK Metcalf did in Detroit.

They occurred repeatedly in Sunday's horrid 13-6 loss in Cleveland, a defeat that deprived them the opportunity to win their first AFC North title in five years.

Metcalf's two-game suspension for accosting and striking a fan during their game at Detroit's Ford Field on Dec. 21 could cost the Steelers a playoff spot, especially after how the offense performed so sloppily and ineffectively against the Browns without him.

His absence — along with a pregame injury to Calvin Austin III and the loss of tight end Darnell Washington to a broken arm — caused quarterback Aaron Rodgers to rely on other receivers who haven't been a part of the Steelers' offense all season.

And those decisions did not work out so well, especially at the end of the game.

"Obviously, losing DK is a tough challenge," tight end Pat Freiermuth said. "As competitors, we have to step up."

It could be the same huge factor for Sunday's winner-take-all meeting with the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night at Acrisure Stadium.

The Steelers beat the Ravens three weeks ago in Baltimore largely because Rodgers repeatedly attacked their secondary with deep throws to Metcalf, starting with the first play of the game.

Metcalf had seven catches for 148 yards — both season highs — including receptions of 52 and 41 yards to start each half. Also, Austin had a 31-yard catch to set up a 39-yard touchdown pass to Jaylen Warren. The only kind of splash the Steelers had in Cleveland was their division-clinching possibilities getting tossed in Lake Erie.

Meantime, the Steelers remain upset that the NFL and Detroit Lions did not alert them before the game about the incident between Metcalf and the same fan a year earlier when Metcalf was with the Seattle Seahawks. Had they done so, additional procedures could have been put in place — by the league, Lions or Steelers — to prevent what ultimately recurred.

It probably did not sit well with them, either, that Metcalf's appeals hearing was handled by a one-time division rival in former Browns coach Chris Palmer, who was appointed by the league.

But without Metcalf and Austin, and then losing Washington in the second quarter, Rodgers was forced to rely on Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Scottie Miller, receivers who entered the game with a combined six catches for 53 yards.

Valdes-Scantling was targeted nine times, including on each of the failed final three plays. And Miller was targeted seven times, including a failed deep pass into the end zone on 4th-and-1 from the Browns 22. They combined to finished with six receptions for 46 yards.

Rodgers said he targeted Valdes-Scantling on the final three plays because he had single coverage. Coach Mike Tomlin said Rodgers had options on the fourth-down incompletion to Miller and "[Miller] was one of them."

But if those decisions proved costly, so did another: failing to attempt at least one throw to Freiermuth instead of targeting Valdes-Scantling on the final three plays. After all, it was Freiermuth who made back-to-back catches of 29 and 11 yards to put the Steelers in position to tie the game at the Browns 10 with 32 seconds remaining.

"We have a lot of confidence in the guys that filled those roles," Rodgers said.

Perhaps, but it's not the same.

Consider: In the 23-9 victory against the Browns in October, Metcalf had three receptions of 25 yards, including a touchdown. Also, Washington opened the game with a 36-yard catch down the sideline.

Rodgers didn't have that available to him in Cleveland, and the results were cataclysmic. And that led to more poor decisions that began seven days earlier in Detroit.