Aaron Rodgers had a successful day throwing the football in Week 1, but it looked very different from the Russell Wilson offense of 2024. The offense has evolved to fit the changing personnel, and DK Metcalf gave them exactly what they were looking for in his debut with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“Can’t say enough about that short catch-and-run by DK [Metcalf],” Tomlin said via The Mike Tomlin Show. “That’s what ball is about. That’s what the acquisition of a guy like DK is about. We got pressure, we dumped the ball to him very quickly short of the first down, he made a would-be tackler miss and went down the sideline for roughly 25 yards.”
The Seahawks sent their slot corner to pressure Rodgers, who immediately got rid of the ball to Metcalf out on the perimeter. Metcalf was six yards short of the line to gain when he caught it. The play initially looked doomed, but Metcalf was able to turn it into a 23-yard gain. He planted his feet to get the DB to break his feet down and then burst around him up the sideline.
That is the quandary that an athlete like Metcalf can put defenders in. They have to respect his size and stiff arm capabilities, but he also has speed and acceleration to make them look foolish in space. Whatever option they choose, he makes them wrong. And that is why the Steelers traded a second-round pick and paid him almost $33 million per season.
“Absorbing very little risk, getting the ball into the hands of a playmaker, and letting him do the rest. That’s what it’s about,” Tomlin said.
Metcalf had four receptions for 83 yards and his average depth of target was somewhere in the ballpark of three yards per attempt. He generated yards after the catch at an impressive rate, and bailed the Steelers out of some unfavortable situations on third down.
These types of plays also supplement the run game for a team that has struggled in that area.
Expect to see more of this in the Steelers’ game plan moving forward. Aaron Rodgers had the third-fastest time to throw of 2.43 per attempt according to NFL Next Gen Stats. Despite that sped up clock, he got sacked four and hit seven total times. If they can’t protect him with strong offensive line play, they need to protect him with schematics.
Metcalf is the perfect receiver to enable that philosophy.
