The Pittsburgh Steelers were able to silence some of the noise surrounding their offensive woes with their Week 3 victory at home over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. They were able to put up 30 points on their divisional foe with an offensive outburst in front of their fans in the Steel City. They finally showed a glimpse of what can be produced in offenses run by Head Coach Mike McCarthy. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers was able to turn back the clock as well, throwing for nearly 300 yards. However, wide receiver DK Metcalf is still leaving a lot to be desired on the field.
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Pittsburgh Steelers’ Mike McCarthy watches the action at Acrisure Stadium during a 2026 game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The veteran wide receiver had just three catches for 31 yards and a touchdown in the win on Sunday. The hopes for him entering this season were to be putting up numbers more like a No. 1 wide receiver than what has been on display thus far. Now a former player for the Black and Gold believes the struggles are becoming a big concern.
On Monday, former Pittsburgh offensive lineman Trai Essex was on an episode of The Snap Count podcast to discuss the game. He was pleased to see an improved offensive performance by the team on Sunday. However, he did not hesitate to point out the continued struggles for their number one pass catcher.
“The concerning play of DK Metcalf,” Essex said. “He was responsible for probably more negative plays in this game than positive ones. He ended up scoring a touchdown, which obviously was crucial. When everything around him is going well, DK still seems to be struggling.”
This is not something that you want to hear given the front office's aggressive nature of going out and getting help to add weapons on offense this past offseason. The other issue is that he is currently making an average annual value of $33 million on his current contract. What Essex found even more alarming were the two holding penalties he was flagged for in Sunday's game. For a player at his position making what he is, he has got to turn things around sooner rather than later.
His 2025 season saw him come up short of 1,000 yards receiving for the second consecutive season in his career which is also something to note given his early struggles this year. If Sunday was any indication of the Pittsburgh offense getting some momentum moving forward, it would be encouraging to see Metcalf start to move past these struggles he has had. That would go a long way in quickly shutting down a narrative that is slowly starting to build about his play.
Steelers Need To See Big Strides From Metcalf To Reach Full Offensive Potential
If the offense for the Black and Gold really ends up getting to where it wants to go under McCarthy, they will need their No. 1 receiver to look more like he is playing that role. He has some solid complementary pieces in rookie Germie Bernard as well as Michael Pittman Jr. alongside him on offense. Third-year wide receiver Roman Wilson can also help to free up Metcalf, especially given his solid performance Sunday with three catches for 60 yards and a touchdown.
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Steelers' DK Metcalf and Aaron Rodgers during a game in 2026.
Despite Wilson's exceptional game on Sunday against Cincinnati, Rodgers was not hesitant to call him out for a costly mistake that he made in the contest. This is a pivotal time for Metcalf's 2026 season, as he is the veteran wide receiver in the room that the team looks to as the guy that can take over games and go off with big performances throughout the year. Albeit early on in 2026, the start to his season has been very underwhelming as he has had just 98 yards receiving on 11 receptions in the first three games. It would be a huge boost for the team if he can get going, especially if the offense found some momentum in Sunday's win and it carries over moving forward.
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