Steelers' Mike McCarthy Takes Blame For DK Metcalf's Quiet Season In Candid Admission

The Pittsburgh Steelers are 6-2 at the bye, but one of their biggest names has been one of their quietest. Wide receiver DK Metcalf has gone through the worst stretch of his career during the first half of the season, and the questions about him have only grown louder. On Monday, Head Coach Mike McCarthy did not point at his receiver. Instead, McCarthy looked in the mirror, saying the slow start is something he has to fix as the team's play-caller before Sunday night's trip to Cincinnati.

McCarthy was asked about Metcalf during his Monday press conference, his first since the bye week. He made it clear that the conversation starts with him, as seen in the press conference the team posted on its official YouTube channel.

"Well, I think just like anything. I look at it as a play-caller. Am I putting DK in position to be successful? That's where I always start anything that I'm looking at offensively."

McCarthy added that getting Metcalf going is "one of many things that we look at each and every week" during the game-plan process. It was a simple answer, but an important one. McCarthy calls the plays in Pittsburgh, and he is taking ownership of the fact that one of his most talented players has not been a big part of the offense.

The numbers back up why the question keeps coming up. Through eight games, Metcalf has 33 catches for 378 yards and one touchdown, and both his catches and yards rank 40th in the NFL, according to 93.7 The Fan's Jeff Hathhorn. Over three of his last four games, he has combined for just six catches and 72 yards.

Week 8 against the Cleveland Browns was the low point. Metcalf caught one of six targets for four yards, and a deep ball from Aaron Rodgers that went off his hands in the third quarter was intercepted by Denzel Ward. It was the kind of play that has followed Metcalf through a frustrating first half.

The Steelers have still won six of their first eight games, including four in a row heading into the bye. But the offense has not featured Metcalf the way most fans expected when the season started, and that is the part McCarthy says falls on him.

Steelers Coaches Have A Plan For Metcalf After The Bye

McCarthy was not the only coach who spoke up for Metcalf on Monday. Offensive Coordinator Brian Angelichio said the staff has specific ideas to get him more involved. "There's some things that we're going to try to do to help him," he said. He also made it clear that the belief in Metcalf has not changed.

"He's a really dynamic player and we have a lot of confidence in him to be that player," Angelichio said, via 93.7 The Fan.

That confidence makes sense when you look at Metcalf's track record. He came to Pittsburgh with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2022 and 2023 on his résumé, and before he joined the Steelers, he had never finished a season with fewer than 900 receiving yards. In his first year in Pittsburgh in 2025, he caught 59 passes for 850 yards and six touchdowns. The Steelers also signed him to a four-year, $132 million extension after trading for him in March 2025, so they need him to be a top option.

Help could be on the way, too. McCarthy said on Monday that wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr., who has been on injured reserve with a foot issue since early October, is "getting close." A healthy Pittman would give defenses one more receiver to worry about and could open up more one-on-one chances for Metcalf.

SteelerNation has been asking what is truly going on with Metcalf for weeks, and Monday was the clearest answer yet from the coaching staff. They do not see a player who has lost it. They see a play-caller and an offense that need to find better ways to use him.

The timing matters. The Steelers visit the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday Night Football with first place in the AFC North on the line. Pittsburgh won the first meeting 30-27 at Acrisure Stadium, according to Steelers.com, but a win in Cincinnati will likely require more from Metcalf. If McCarthy's plan works, the second half of the season could start with Metcalf looking like the player the Steelers paid for.

This story was produced with the help of AI and reviewed by SteelerNation editors.

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