RK In the aftermath of the nail-biter against the Chargers, D.K. Metcalf finally broke his silence on the key Aaron Rodgers overthrow that left Steelers fans stunned — and the entire NFL debating what really happened.

While the Pittsburgh Steelers suffered a lopsided 25-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, quarterback Aaron Rodgers failed to take advantage of a few key opportunities early in the game that could have made the outcome very different. Most notably, Rodgers overthrew wide receiver D.K. Metcalf on a play that appeared to have a great chance of being a touchdown.

But when asked about the play Wednesday, Metcalf accepted blame, saying it was his fault, not Rodgers’s, for why the connection wasn’t made.

“I had a corner post, and I saw Aaron [Rodgers] roll out to the left, so I kinda broke my route a little flatter than I should’ve,” Metcalf told reporters, via Pittsburgh Sports Now’s Brendan Howe. “I should’ve kept the route high.”

#Steelers WR DK Metcalf shouldered the blame for being overthrown by Aaron Rodgers on a would-be touchdown against the #Chargers on Sunday night:

“I had a corner post and I saw Aaron roll out to the left, so I kinda broke my route a little flatter than I should’ve. I should’ve

Metcalf could have had more yards on that one overthrow than he ended up having in the entire game. Had Metcalf caught Rodgers’ pass on the third-and-5 attempt in the first quarter, he likely would have scored a 41-yard touchdown.

“Metcalf had at least three, maybe four yards, on Chargers cornerback Elijah Molden,” Howe wrote. “The ball crashed out of reach near the 1-yard line, with the receiver in stride at the 4.”

Metcalf finished Sunday’s contest with three catches for 35 yards.

D.K. Metcalf Takes Blame for Aaron Rodgers Overthrow

The misconnection with Metcalf on third-and-5 wasn’t the only time Sunday night Rodgers delivered a high pass. So, during the game, it was pretty easy to blame the quarterback for the failed opportunity.

In his postgame press conference, Rodgers didn’t change the narrative that the missed touchdown was his fault.

“A lot of stuff wasn’t working. We were bad on third down,” Rodgers told reporters. “I was just a little bit off. I missed DK [Metcalf] early and could’ve been a big play.”

The miss to Metcalf was one of nine failed third-down conversion attempts for the Steelers in Week 10. Rodgers and company finished 2-for-11 on third down versus the Chargers.

The Steelers need to showcase more third-down efficiency going forward. To improve in that area, Rodgers and Metcalf will have to display better chemistry than they did Sunday.

But the positive news is both big personalities held themselves accountable for the miss in Week 10.

Metcalf Addresses How He Leads Steelers Receivers

The Steelers are asking a lot from Metcalf this year. The team had significant question marks at receiver entering 2025. Wideouts such as Calvin Austin III and Roman Wilson have done little to quiet the doubters.

Without another receiver consistently getting opener, Metcalf is seeing a lot of double coverage.

But he appears to be taking it in stride and not making excuses. As far as helping the Steelers receiver room, Metcalf is leading by example.

“First off, I gotta continue to get open,” Metcalf told reporters Wednesday. “I can’t say anything if I’m not doing my job first.

“But then, I really don’t say much to anybody in the receiver room unless they come to me with questions. … These players got here on their own, so they all have a special ability.”

Metcalf has 32 catches, 502 receiving yards and five touchdowns this season. He has twice as many receiving yards as every other Steelers pass-catcher except Pat Freiermuth, who has 260 receiving yards.

But Metcalf is still only averaging 3.6 receptions and 55.8 receiving yards per game, both of which are career lows.