NFL Insider believes Steelers will struggle without DK Metcalf

After having his two-game suspension appeal denied by the NFL, the Pittsburgh Steelers will officially be without DK Metcalf for the remainder of the regular season.

Now, on paper, this isn’t the worst outcome considering the situation, as, at 9-6, the Steelers just have to win one more game to guarantee they represent the AFC North, either against the Cleveland Browns in Week 17 or the Baltimore Ravens in the regular season finale. But in the opinion of ESPN’s Marcus Spears, that might not be as easy as it may seem, as after seemingly getting their offense back on track over the past few games, Pittsburgh will have to recalibrate once more without their top offensive playmaker.

“To your point MK, it’s the worst possible time not to have him, and it’s not because they don’t have an opportunity to win these two games, it’s because this team has been ascending the last three games, and he’s been a part of that. Look, we just coming off of four weeks ago talking about this team having no identity. Didn’t know where this offense were going to go. They weren’t making explosive plays. And in one week, it was Aaron Rodgers to DK Metcalf in particular, that changed that volume on no passes over 15 yards, and you started to see this offense start matriculating and rolling, and he was a big part of that. MK, you just came off talking about the gravitational pull that Christian McCaffrey has. DK does this for them down the field, like you mentioned,” Spears said.

“So it’s going to get harder for an offense that we’ve seen struggle for a large majority of this season, and I want to see how they’re going. Just obviously, the run game can be something that can be strong for the Pittsburgh Steelers if they can get that going. The one thing that players will tell you all the time: It is hard to play against the Cleveland Browns. I know they don’t win a lot of games, and I know they are never a team that seemingly wins at the end of games. But most teams and most dudes that I talked to about this defense, they tell you it’s usually one of the most physical and hardest games to play, and not to mention Miles Garrett plays for them.”

While Metcalf’s 2025 season will go down as the worst of his career, statistically speaking, he has still been the Steelers’ top offensive weapon, recording 850 yards on 99 receptions over 15 games. Even if he’s back by playoff time, the Steelers will still have to go back to the drawing board to figure out what works over the next two weeks and then fold that into their December offense in a single-elimination playoff game, a task easier said than done.

"It's the worst possible time not to have him. … It's going to get harder for an offense that we've seen struggle for a large majority of this season."@mspears96 analyzes what it will be like for the Steelers not to have DK Metcalf vs. the Browns. pic.twitter.com/GKV8BFJpXq

— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) December 23, 2025

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