The Pittsburgh Steelers have to try and figure out how to make sure that poor offensive performance from Week 10 does not happen again. They showed no ability to move the ball down the field until garbage time late in the fourth quarter. Everything that could go wrong did for that unit. It's probably just an off night, but one more week of that type of play will result in fans panicking and once again loudly proclaiming that change has to happen, especially since their next opponent is currently statistically the worst defense in the NFL: the Cincinnati Bengals.
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Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) throws the football during an away game against the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2025 NFL season.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers took most of the blame for that awful Week 10 performance for his constant overthrows. However, top receiver DK Metcalf explained that his biggest overthrow was actually a good pass, and the incompletion was his own fault.
DK Metcalf on this play: "I had a corner-post. I saw Aaron rolled out to his left, so I kind of broke my route a little flatter than I should have been. So I should have kept the route higher." pic.twitter.com/ogAN0AYvpX
— Mike DeFabo (@MikeDeFabo) November 12, 2025
The play in particular was a scramble drill, and Metcalf tried to modify his route to make things easier on his quarterback. Instead, he missed the chance to get a big touchdown and have momentum swing towards Pittsburgh. Even though the Steelers lost by a lot more than seven points, that play could have helped so much more than the stat sheet could ever say.
Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) throws to DK Metcalf (4) during a win over the Cleveland Browns during the 2025 season in Week 6.
Something clearly was not right in Rodgers' head all game long. However, if he connected with Metcalf on that play for what would have been a 41-yard touchdown, maybe that gives him the confidence needed to make those throws that he had missed throughout the game. We will never know for sure, but completing a pass like that definitely raises the confidence and morale of the entire team.
On that same front, maybe Metcalf gains more confidence in his routes if he does the right thing there and catches the ball. He could not get consistent separation throughout the game, as every move he made seemed to be the wrong one.
Steelers Should Learn From Defensive Mistakes
There is one theme that has constantly come up for Pittsburgh's defense over the past couple seasons: doing too much individually and not trusting teammates. There have been many times where the players say that they lost gap integrity or left a man wide open because they wanted to help others. In reality, if they just do their job and stick to their assignments each week, good things will happen.
Hawk Blogger / X
Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker runs with the football during an away game in Pittsburgh versus the Steelers in Week 2 of the 2025 regular season.
That can be applied to the offense as well. Run your routes, stick to your assignments, and good things will happen. Metcalf has never been much of an elite route runner, but he still needs to learn this as well. Just do what you're supposed to do, and Rodgers will find a way to get you the ball. There's no need to run flat, especially when you have the ability to go up and score an early touchdown.
Sometimes, it's good to just get back to the basics. All these players in the NFL have these contracts because of how good they are, but sometimes they don't perform like that. They can overthink things, or the team gets behind, and they feel like have to do more -- which just puts them in a bigger hole.
What do you think about DK Metcalf taking the full blame for a potential touchdown that Rodgers seemed to overthrow in Week 10? Let us know down in the comments or on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.
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