The Pittsburgh Steelers' opening schedule could be seen as somewhat of a revenge tour. Pittsburgh opened up the season with Aaron Rodgers' former team, the New York Jets, and in Week 2, they are set to take on DK Metcalf's former team, the Seattle Seahawks. However, Metcalf downplayed the idea of this being a revenge game.
"Y'all are going to make it a big deal," Metcalf said this week, via the Associated Press. I'm not... It's just another football game."
Undoubtedly, this is a mature answer from a 27-year-old receiver. Notably, Metcalf requested a trade from Seattle during the offseason and was subsequently dealt to the Steelers. Nevertheless, ESPN's Dan Graziano noted that it wouldn't shock anyone if Rodgers got Metcalf involved against his former team on Sunday.
This is in part due to the Steelers not having a super deep receiving core, but also could be partly because Rodgers wants his WR1 to show out against his former squad. Notably, in Week 1, Metcalf led the team in targets (seven) and receiving yards (70). Don't be surprised if these numbers go up against Seattle.
Aaron Rodgers downplayed his revenge game against the Jets, but later admitted the importance of it
Much like Metcalf, during the lead-up to Week 1, Rodgers downplayed his "revenge game" against the Jets. However, after the game, A-Rod sounded off against his former team, saying he was happy to beat everyone associated with the Jets.
"I was happy to beat everybody associated with the Jets."
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 7, 2025
—Aaron Rodgers after his 34-32 win over the Jets pic.twitter.com/WyAqADIYsp
This is on-brand for Rodgers, and it wouldn't be surprising to see him make it a point to get Metcalf involved early. Additionally, this shows that despite pre-game comments, some games just mean more. It's hard to imagine a matchup against his former team not holding any weight for DK, even though he is strictly focused on helping the Steelers go 2-0.
DK Metcalf's "revenge game" is far different from Rodgers'
It's natural to draw some parallels to Rodgers' revenge game last week. Regardless, the way Metcalf left his former team was different from how Rodgers left the Jets. As noted earlier, Metcalf requested a trade. Conversely, the Jets didn't want Rodgers back with new head coach Aaron Glenn reportedly telling A-Rod he wasn't the right man for the job.
This made the Jets game all the more important for the future Hall of Famer. Clearly, Metcalf's Seahawks exit was fundamentally different, and thus, the meaning of the game could be different for the two players.
While Metcalf's exit was under different circumstances, don't be surprised if he has a massive game and Rodgers gives him some extra targets. Watching how Metcalf's first game against his former team on Sunday plays out should be exciting.