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.
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.
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.
Prior to the clash with the New York Rangers, the Tampa Bay Lightning announced on Tuesday that Ryan McDonagh and Dominic James were placed on the injured reserve following their win over the Washington Capitals last weekend. With that, they had a need to fill with two open roster spots. To fill the holes that McDonagh and James left open, the
The two forwards that the Lightning chose to recall are left winger,
Katchouck was originally drafted by the Lightning in the second round of the 2016 NHL draft. He appeared in 38 games for the Lightning in the 2021-22 season, in which he scored a total two goals, had four assists, and six points.
He was also a member of the 2021 Stanely Cup Champion Roster, making this a champion’s homecoming.
He was then traded to Chicago by Tampa Bay with Taylor Raddysh and two conditional first-round NHL draft picks in the trade that brough Brandon Hagel and a fourth ground-round pick in the 2022 NHL draft and a fourth-round pick in 2024 to Tampa Bay.
He spent the next three seasons with Chicago before being claimed off waivers by Ottawa from Chicago in 2024. He played in 21 games with Ottawa, scoring two goals, two assists, and had four points.
Last season, the right-winger skated in 67 games for the Wilkes-Barre/ Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League. He scored 21 goals, had 28 assists, and 49 points.
After being signed as a free agent by Tampa Bay in July, the 27-year old from Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada has appeared in 12 games for the organization’s American Hockey League Syracuse Crunch. He has four goals, five assists, and nine points.
When he hits the ice on Wednesday, he will make his first return to Tampa Bay since that 2021-2022 season. It’s homecoming night for Katchouk as he is now teammates with the player he traded for in 2022.
As for Sabourin, Wednesday night will be his Lightning debut. He was signed by the organization as a free agent
During his time with San Jose’s organization, he spent most of his tenure in the American Hockey League. Last season he skated in 68 games with the San Jose Barracuda, scoring 10 goals, recording 15 assists, and had 25 points.
He skated in just four games for the NHL San Jose Sharks between 2023-2025. He did not record any points across those games.
So far this season, the 33-year old from Orleans, Ontario, CAN has appeared in 11 games for the Syracuse Crunch, in which he has three goals and two assists, for five total points on the year.
When the Lightning take the ice on Wednesday night, Sabourin will say hello to Tampa Bay and hope to kick off a great tenure with the Lightning.