DK Metcalf’s absence was obviously noticeable during Week 17’s loss to the Cleveland Browns. It has dominated the local and media discussion. Without Metcalf, Pittsburgh had no reliable options in the passing game. Marquez Valdes-Scantling struggled, and Adam Thielen missed critical chances, too. Pittsburgh posted its weakest offensive output of the season. But Metcalf’s absence wasn’t the only offensive problem. Losing TE Darnell Washington mid-way through had its own impact.

It didn’t take long for Pittsburgh to feel that. This is the next offensive snap after Washington’s injury. A zone run to the boundary and away from the strength of the formation. Backside, that tasked TE Jonnu Smith blacking DE Myles Garrett. A matchup he predictably lost.

Garrett flowed down the line, beat the block, and made the tackle on RB Kenneth Gainwell for just a 3-yard gain.

It’s hard to fault or blame Smith. Asking him to make and win this block isn’t in Smith’s wheelhouse. But if it’s Darnell Washington in there, as it would’ve been had he not gotten hurt, he has a much better chance of making this block and making it harder for Garrett to make the play.

The following snap. Pittsburgh is running a quasi-snag concept to the top. Marquez Valdes-Scantling to the corner, Scotty Miller to the flat, Adam Thielen coming across to settle down on the curl/snag.

To the bottom, the Steelers are running an Escort Swing. Gainwell in the flat with a designed and dedicated blocker in front with TE Pat Freiermuth. Rodgers throws to Gainwell in the flat, and there’s green grass ahead. But Freiermuth can’t make the block in space on LB Devin Bush. Bush beats Freiermuth and nails Gainwell for a loss of 6 yards.

Back-to-back negative plays. It put Pittsburgh in 3rd-and-forever. Rodgers threw incomplete, and the Steelers settled for a field goal.

Like Smith, this is a tough play for Freiermuth. Trying to make that block in space on a moving target. But Darnell Washington is better equipped for these plays. Not having him here was costly.

One last clip. Again, focusing on Jonnu Smith. Frontside block against No. 91, DE Alex Wright. Wright uses his long-arm technique to work Smith backwards, taken for a ride on this block, before Wright sheds the block.

To be clear, Smith’s failed block didn’t impact the play. He isn’t to blame for the minimal gain. But it’s an example of the tight ends struggling against Cleveland’s 4-3 ends. They aren’t equipped to make blocks like these.

Pittsburgh still ran reasonably well Sunday. Darnell Washington’s injury didn’t stop the ground game cold. But the plays he made simply can’t be done as easily or as often by others. Trying to run on a tough Baltimore front, one Pittsburgh gained just 34 yards on with Washington in the first meeting, will be all the more challenging with him sidelined.