{"id":669061,"date":"2026-01-11T15:16:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T15:16:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/669061\/"},"modified":"2026-01-11T15:16:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T15:16:13","slug":"steelers-teammates-made-sure-to-include-dk-metcalf-in-afc-north-celebration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/669061\/","title":{"rendered":"Steelers’ Teammates Made Sure To Include DK Metcalf In AFC North Celebration"},"content":{"rendered":"

Suspended for the final two weeks of the regular season, DK Metcalf couldn\u2019t be within the locker room as the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrated winning the AFC North for the first time since 2020. All he could do was call TE Pat Freiermuth pre-game<\/a> and watch the kickoff from his home. After the division was won, his teammates made sure to call him back.<\/p>\n

Joining NFL Network\u2019s The Insiders on Friday evening,<\/a> wide receiver Calvin Austin III, the man who caught the game-winning touchdown, shared the story of keeping Metcalf as close to the team as the circumstances could allow.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know I called DK immediately on FaceTime,\u201d Austin told the show. \u201cWe were just wanting him to be a part of this \u2019cause he helped us get to be in this position. Just the type of guy he is, how he cares about his teammates, and you can just tell that he cares about how he blocks on the field and stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

That allowed Metcalf to enjoy the moment, even if it was still from afar.<\/p>\n

After a terrible showing without Metcalf in Week 17, the Steelers\u2019 passing game rose to meet the moment in Week 18\u2019s winner-take-all. A fourth-quarter flurry of points, Austin came through with another clutch touchdown. All three of his 2025 scores have come in the fourth quarter. All three have given Pittsburgh the lead. All three have ended in a Steelers\u2019 win.<\/p>\n

While Metcalf wasn\u2019t available to help Pittsburgh sweep Baltimore and clinch the AFC North, he was a significant reason why the Steelers were in position in the first place. Though his numbers may not have been eye-popping, the attention he demanded created favorable matchups for others. Metcalf came through with multiple standout performances, including a 148-yard showing in the Steelers\u2019 first win over the Ravens. His value went beyond the box score, making impact plays as a blocker and even a one-time gunner.<\/p>\n

Metcalf and Austin\u2019s relationship is one worth mentioning. After Austin suffered an injury in Week 4\u2019s Ireland win over the Minnesota Vikings, Metcalf stood up for him and jawed with Vikings\u2019 players<\/a> who mocked Austin going down.<\/p>\n

Now, Metcalf is fully back with his teammates, with one common goal: beating the Houston Texans.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving him back this week, especially for the game of course, but just throughout practice and this entire week has been big,\u201d Austin said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Suspended for the final two weeks of the regular season, DK Metcalf couldn\u2019t be within the locker room…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":669062,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2055],"tags":[8741,2870,7,6,520,57,2360,426],"class_list":{"0":"post-669061","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh-steelers","8":"tag-calvin-austin-iii","9":"tag-dk-metcalf","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-nfl","12":"tag-pittsburgh","13":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers","14":"tag-pittsburghsteelers","15":"tag-steelers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115877130310258058","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=669061"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669061\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/669062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=669061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=669061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=669061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}