The Seattle Seahawks were going to have a difficult time in Week 2 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, no matter what happened with former Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf. Rookie safety Nick Emmanwori was out, but much worse was Pro Bowl cornerback Devon Witherspoon missing the game.
Head coach Mike Macdonald knew he couldn't disguise his alignments as well without Witherspoon, and that meant more straight-up coverage on Metcalf. Not that Metcalf is the best receiver ever, but he is a good one, and he obviously wanted to play well in his first game against his former team.
He didn't start that way. He had a drop on his first target, and his second was in his hands but knocked away by safety Julian Love. Even his first catch wasn't overly exciting. He gained nine yards in tight coverage.
Seattle Seahawks get the last laugh with wide receiver DK Metcalf
But his fourth target mattered and showed something the Seahawks miss. Metcalf is a big receiver who, if used correctly, should have always been a fantastic in the red zone. With Seattle, Metcalf certainly scored his share of touchdowns, but it always felt he could have done more.
Maybe he will find his way to do that with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He caught a touchdown pass in the second quarter to put the Steelers up by a touchdown as he bodied up safety Coby Bryant, boxed out, and caught the touchdown pass with ease.
That might have been a sign that Metcalf was going to serve some vengeance that he didn't truly have a right to. He asked to leave Seattle, and Seattle general manager John Schneider dealt him away. Metcalf got his wish, but he didn't get his victory against the Seahawks.
In fact, Metcalf would only have one more catch after his touchdown, finishing with a rather pitiful three catches and 20 yards. He was targeted six times. He wasn't the player that the Steelers needed him to be to elevate the offense, and he was a lot like he was with Seattle.
He got his targets, he scored a touchdown, but he didn't make important catches when he was needed to catch them.
This was the case even though DK Metcalf tried to get a defender into a sticky situation. He jawed with cornerbacks Riq Woolen and Josh Jobe, but they failed to respond. Ultimately, Metcalf, like his team, failed.
And the future is not overly bright for Metcalf's new team. He wanted to go to a team that was close to winning a Super Bowl, had a long-term quarterback situation, and played in a warmer weather climate than Seattle. None of those is the case in Pittsburgh, and the Seattle Seahawks will get the last laugh.