Despite not having wide receiver DK Metcalf or tight end Darnell Washington available for their Week 18 season finale, the Pittsburgh Steelers found a way to put up 23 second-half points in a critical win over the Baltimore Ravens. Now Mike Tomlin's team will host a playoff game against the Houston Texans, and they couldn't get their top receiving threat back at a better time.
Following his two-game suspension for getting into an altercation with a Lions fan, DK Metcalf addressed the media on Monday ahead of Wild Card weekend.
Metcalf was asked five times to share details in questions regarding his suspension, the appeal process, and to add clarity to any misinformation regarding his suspension. However, the veteran receiver wisely refused to comment on the media's prying questions regarding his incident with the Lions fan.
"No, I can't... I can't walk you all through nothing that happened... Yeah, but that's all I can say... I can't say nothing about what happened... I can't say anything about what happened, for the fifth time."
Give the media credit here: they were relentless in trying to get the details. However, Metcalf was more persistent in making sure he didn't share any information regarding his suspension. What's most impressive is how cool, calm, and collected he was despite the media hounding him with five consecutive questions about his suspension.
The Pittsburgh Steelers get DK Metcalf back in time for a pivotal Wild Card game against the Houston Texans
While we can debate all day long whether former Steelers wide receiver George Pickens would have found himself in a similar situation had he stayed in Pittsburgh, we should be thankful for the way Metcalf carried himself with the media.
Now it's time to move past the moment of weakness we saw from Metcalf in Week 16 at Ford Field and focus on the task ahead: taking down the Houston Texans.
Without Metcalf in the lineup against the Cleveland Browns in Week 17, Pittsburgh's passing game put up one of its worst performances of the season, as Adam Thielen, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and Scotty Miller combined to earn a mere 60 yards on 21 targets (2.8 yards per target). Thankfully, the passing game found much more success in the win-or-go-home season finale against the Baltimore Ravens.
Thanks to a strong second-half performance in Week 18, Aaron Rodgers finished the game with 294 passing yards and a touchdown. However, it was clear that Pittsburgh was lacking a number one option, and Metcalf's return comes at the perfect time.
The Houston Texans finished second in total defense (279.1 yards per game allowed) and second in scoring defense (17.4 points per game allowed). Meanwhile, Houston's passing defense ranked sixth in the NFL, surrendering a mere 185.4 passing yards per game to its opponents.
Metcalf doesn't necessarily need a huge performance for the Steelers to emerge victorious in the Wild Card round; he simply needs to draw the attention from the Texans' secondary, which could allow just enough space for other Steelers pass catchers to work the field.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are simply a better team and a better offense with Metcalf on the field, and we're thankful that his two-game suspension is behind us.