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The Pittsburgh Steelers are heading to the NFL playoffs after a thrilling end to Week 18, and one of their stars is clearly happy because he wasn’t allowed to play in the team’s crucial final regular-season games due to a suspension.
D.K. Metcalf was suspended two games for swiping at a fan during the Steelers’ game against the Detroit Lions, and his 2025 season availability came down to a 44-yard field goal by Baltimore Ravens kicker Tyler Loop on Sunday night to determine who would win the AFC North and who would be heading home for the year.
Loop’s kick went wide right, and in turn, Metcalf will be suiting up against the Houston Texans on “Monday Night Football” during the Wild Card Round.
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Pittsburgh Steelers’ DK Metcalf sits on the bench during the second half of an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Rey Del Rio)
Metcalf decided to post a skit by comedian Druski to his Instagram Story on Monday, which expressed his happiness. In the skit, Druski is playing a character who was just released from jail, which Metcalf is clearly comparing to his two-game suspension.
Druski is meeting up with friends again in the skit, while saying “demon home.” Metcalf likely will feel the same way heading into the Steelers’ facility this week to prepare for their playoff game.
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The Steelers didn’t have to hope that Loop missed that kick on Sunday night to determine their playoff spot, as a win over the Cleveland Browns in Week 17 would’ve sealed the deal. But without Metcalf, Rodgers and company had a hard time against the Browns’ defense, which included three passes from the four-time MVP quarterback to Marquez Valdes-Scantling at the end of the game that all went incomplete in the end zone.
Steelers fans couldn’t help but think what might have happened if Metcalf was the one getting those fade balls like he has all season.
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf (4) warms up before the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Acrisure Stadium on Aug. 16, 2025. (Charles LeClaire/Imagn Images)
Instead, Week 18 mattered as the Ravens defeated the Green Bay Packers and made the matchup a winner-takes-all scenario at Acrisure Stadium. Luckily for Metcalf, his teammates picked him up, including Calvin Austin hauling in the game-winning touchdown with 55 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
However, the Steelers were on pins and needles after trusty kicker Chris Boswell shanked the extra point, leaving the Ravens the chance at the walk-off field.
Pittsburgh escaped with the victory, but the challenge gets even greater now as they will have to face the Texans, the NFL’s best defense in yards allowed per game (277.2) and second-best in points allowed (17.4).
Pittsburgh Steelers safety Jabrill Peppers (40) reacts after Baltimore Ravens kicker Tyler Loop (33) missed a field goal attempt in the second half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
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Metcalf will be relied on by Rodgers and the rest of the Steelers’ offense to get the job done, and though he’s joking a bit now, he surely understands the pressure that comes his way in the playoffs.
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