Metcalf’s 83 Yards Highlight Steelers Win, But He’s Mad at Himself for Drops
On paper, DK Metcalf putting up 83 receiving yards for the Pittsburgh Steelers is respectable, especially by recent standards of this offense. But Metcalf knows his day could’ve been so much more. Happy with the team win, Metcalf says there’s plenty for him to work on to help Pittsburgh net another.
“We can do better. Because I’m mad at myself about a few of them,” Metcalf told ESPN’s Courtney Cronin immediately after the Steelers’ 34-32 win over the Jets, confirming he was referring about drops.
Metcalf’s first target as a Steeler was dropped over the middle. He quickly made up for it with a 23-yard catch-and-run on the following play to get Pittsburgh out of third and long. It jump-started the drive that led to Rodgers’ touchdown pass to WR Ben Skowronek, the team’s first Week 1 opening-drive touchdown since 2008.
Metcalf and Rodgers linked up again on the first quarter’s final play, a 31-yard screen pass that highlighted Metcalf’s wheels in open grass. His wildest reception came in the second half, a slant that pinballed off multiple players of both uniforms before falling back into Metcalf’s hands.
Though four Steelers found the end zone, Metcalf was held out of it. Still, he led the team in targets and receiving yards and made positive strides toward having a 1,000-yard season after falling 8 yards shy just a season ago. There’s no question Rodgers will pepper him with targets, just as he did throughout training camp. Part of having a veteran like Rodgers means he’ll get the ball to playmakers. Metcalf is a playmaker.
“This was our first time together,” he said of a new-look Steelers offense. “It was a lot of new faces here in Pittsburgh. So the message is go out there and just show who you are and just be yourself. And I think we did a good job of that today.”
His drops can and need to be cleaned up. But Metcalf isn’t known for having the surest hands. We noted that in our training camp evaluation.
“If there’s a negative, his hands aren’t as reliable, and a couple of throws will bounce off him,” we wrote, though he still earned the highest summer grade at his position.
After facing Sauce Gardner Sunday, Metcalf will draw another tough matchup for his home Steelers debut. The Seattle Seahawks’ Tariq Woolen is big and long and obviously knows Metcalf well from their days as teammates. Just as Rodgers did against his former team today, Metcalf will look for a statement performance, one without drops, in Week Two.
Packers Star Xavier McKinney Unfazed by Controversial Taunting Flag Against Lions
Early in the second quarter of Sunday’s showdown with the Lions in Green Bay, Packers star safety Xavier McKinney did something so many players in the history of the league have done before him. He blocked an opponent to the ground, and subsequently stood over him.
The opponent was Kalif Raymond, and neither he nor McKinney was involved in the play, which saw Kiesean Nixon push lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs out of bounds. But as Raymond got up to engage in a minor confrontation with McKinney, something odd happened. A flag came in and McKinney was whistled for a 15-yard penalty on a pretty innocuous play.
The play was was unusual to say the least, and met with much disdain by fans on social media. but it is part of the new “respect for opponents” emphasis the league has enacted this season. It didn’t hurt the Packers in their 27-13 drubbing of the Lions, but it could have.
Xavier McKinney ‘Probably’ Did Taunt
McKinney admitted after the game that he did stand over Raymond, and did not seem too concerned about it. The Lions ended up with a field goal on the drive.
“I probably did,” McKinney said when asked about standing over Raymond. “But hey, it is what it is. I had to set the tone not just for our team but for our defense of how we want to play. I’ll take the flag, I’ll live with it, it’s all right.”
LaFleur was livid with the officiating crew when the play unfolded. After the game, he was being diplomatic but clearly disagreed with the call. When he was first asked what he saw on the play, he shot back at a reporter, “What did you see?”
But he went on: “Worst case scenario, they should’ve been offsetting (penalties). But they saw it differently.”
Packers Known They Must Keep Composure
Still, the league has made plain its attempts to clean up unsportsmanlike behavior on the field, and even sent a memo to each team to hammer home the point last month. LaFleur said his team is aware of the point of emphasis.
“We’ll definitely address that again. We can’t do that,” LaFleur said. ‘We’ve got to be better than that. Football is an emotional game, and I understand. I love these guys getting excited about playing. There’s a lot of stuff that goes on on the field, but you’ve got to keep your composure and your poise, especially when you’re playing a really good football team.”
McKinney added: “Going forward, I’m going to toe the line. If I get a flag, I’ll learn from it, but I’m going to toe that line. Obviously, I’m a smart player so I understand when I can and can’t do it, but this type of game, I had to set the tone and that’s just what it was. And we’ll live with it.”
