Steelers Must Think Long and Hard About DK Metcalf

Metcalf Falls Short Once Again

Though he let a couple of Aaron Rodgers' passes slip through his hands against Atlanta, it didn't ultimately cost Pittsburgh the game.

The same could be said against the Patriots in that his miscues weren't the sole reason why the Steelers fell to the Patriots. That doesn't mean they weren't among the primary root causes of their offensive shortcomings, however.

Metcalf had two drops vs. New England, one of which came on a drag route that would've otherwise resulted in a guaranteed first down on 3rd-and-3 with 2:27 left in the third quarter.

Pittsburgh was down just one score (10-3) at that point in time, and had Metcalf secured the ball, who knows how the rest of the drive could've played out from there.

What Should Steelers Do With Metcalf?

Rodgers insisted that he was "not worried at all" about Metcalf this past week and that he was going to "keep on feeding him".

The latter part of that statement turned out to be true considering he's Pittsburgh's No. 1 receiver. Metcalf finished with a team-high nine targets against the Patriots, though he had just four receptions and the fifth-most receiving yards with 27.

Assuming Pittman Jr. will be back in action against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 3 coupled with the fact that Germie Bernard looked quite good in the former's absence despite having a ball bounce off of him for an interception in garbage time, the Steelers shouldn't have to be nearly as dependent on Metcalf as they were in 2025.

He's still their top receiver by nature, and they are paying him just under $33 million per year, though having him play second fiddle would be good for all parties involved.

That doesn't mean the Steelers should bench him or not look to get him the football at times, but rather take some pressure off of him by curtailing his snap count and involving some of their weapons (Bernard in particular) at a heightened rate while Metcalf figures out his issues.

Pittsburgh has to give Metcalf the opportunity to bounce back and work himself back up, though its patience with him also can't be everlasting if he's going to almost single-handedly shut down drives.