Steelers' Mike Tomlin makes confession regarding DK Metcalf's absence following loss to Browns

The Pittsburgh Steelers suffered a frustrating 13–6 road loss to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, falling to 9-7 and missing a chance to clinch the AFC North. 

The offense was the biggest letdown, as Aaron Rodgers and the passing game struggled to find any consistency. Pittsburgh’s aerial attack was further hampered by the absence of wide receiver DK Metcalf, who served the first game of a two-game suspension stemming from a Week 16 altercation with a fan. The Steelers offense felt the absence of the star wideout, and so did the head coach.

DK Metcalf's absence affected Steelers in Week 17

Rodgers finished the day with just 168 passing yards as the Steelers were held without a touchdown for the first time this season. It was apparent that Metcalf's suspension impacted the Steelers offense, and head coach Mike Tomlin alluded to that during his postgame news conference.

"It was an impact, but we certainly got capable men and we expect those guys to make necessary plays and we certainly didn't make enough today," Tomlin said.

With Metcalf out, the Steelers were forced to look elsewhere, and to say that didn't go well would be an understatement. Pat Freiermuth was the team's leading receiver with three catches for 63 yards, and two of those didn't come until the final drive of the game.

Pittsburgh tried to spread the ball out and push the ball downfield, clearly attempting to make up for Metcalf’s absence by attacking vertically. However, the problem was obvious; without Metcalf’s size, strength and ability to go up and win contested catches, those deep shots had almost no chance.

There were a few moments when Rodgers took his chances down the sideline, but the Browns defensive backs didn’t seem overly concerned. Without a true deep-ball threat, Cleveland's defense was able to keep everything in front of it. Metcalf’s height and physicality usually force defenses to account for him at all times, but on Sunday, the Browns didn’t have to do that, and it showed.

Other receivers had opportunities but couldn’t consistently create separation or make plays in traffic. Miscommunication didn’t help, either, and the lack of chemistry was noticeable. Beyond the numbers, the offense just never looked comfortable. Routes didn’t seem to line up with where Rodgers expected his receivers to be, and that hesitation led to late throws or checkdowns short of the sticks. Too often, Pittsburgh found itself in third-and-long situations with no real answer. 

The lack of explosive plays was glaring. The Steelers had been able to spread the ball and take those shots down the field during their three-game win streak, but without Metcalf, that disappeared. Defensively, the Steelers did enough to win. Holding a division rival to 13 points on the road should usually be enough. Unfortunately, the offense couldn’t take advantage.

Steelers will once again be without DK Metcalf in Week 18

The Steelers were hoping that they would be able to rest their starters for their Week 18 home matchup against the Baltimore Ravens, but following Sunday's loss to Cleveland, everything has changed.