The Terrible Podcast — Steelers-Browns Recap, Week 18 Game, Latest Metcalf News, Transactions & More

December 29, 2025 -

Season 16, Episode 70 of The Terrible Podcast is now in the can. In this Monday morning episode, Alex Kozora and I get right into our overarching thoughts on the Pittsburgh Steelers' Week 17 road loss to the Cleveland Browns and what a disappointment that game was. We also set the stage for the Steelers Week 18 home game against the Baltimore Ravens for all of the AFC North marbles.

Early in this show, Alex and I go over the last four plays of the Steelers Sunday loss to the Browns as they attempted to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

In our weekly housekeeping portion of this show, which is sponsored by the fine folks at TouringPlans.com, Alex and I talk about the Steelers' Sunday inactive list and the players who missed the contest due to injuries. We also talk about the transactions that the team made on Saturday afternoon. Alex and I discuss RB Kaleb Johnson being a healthy scratch once again on Sunday.

The Steelers sustained another key injury on Sunday. The key player that was lost during the game against the Browns was TE Darnell Washington, who reportedly sustained a broken left arm in the first half. We discuss what his loss means moving forward into Week 18.

After going through the newsy items related to Saturday and Sunday, Alex and I look at what all transpired at Huntington Bank Field against the Browns. We first talk about the Steelers' offense and that unit failed miserably in situational football, third downs, fourth downs, and inside the red zone. We also discuss the offensive game plan on Sunday when it comes to the handling of Browns DE Myles Garrett.

Alex and I look at the national and local narrative concerning the Steelers’ main focus being to prevent Garrett from getting the sack record as the team's main focus, instead of trying to win the game.

Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers made several questionable decisions on Sunday, so we go over those. We also talk about the quality of the running game and the overall play of the offensive line against the Browns. We also discuss WR Roman Wilson playing just nine offensive snaps against the Browns and not registering any targets.

After a lengthy discussion about the Steelers' offense, Alex and I do the same with their defense. We discuss that unit getting off to a relatively poor start against the Browns offense but getting much better in the second quarter and on. We discuss the touchdown allowed by S Kyle Dugger, the two interceptions the defense had, and the almost interception by OLB Nick Herbig. We highlight the play of OLB Alex Highsmith, DT Cameron Heyward and S Jalen Ramsey as positives on Sunday.

For all practical purposes, the Steelers’ defense did more than enough to help the team win on Sunday, so we make sure to drive that point home.

Finally, Alex and I give some thoughts on special teams play from Sunday. We discuss the miss by K Chris Boswell, the effort by P Corliss Waitman, and all of the kick and punt units.

After discussing Sunday's game in detail, Alex and I talk about the latest news concerning suspended WR DK Metcalf. We discuss the latest concerning his contract and future guarantees in addition to the Sunday report concerning his previous experience with the troubling fan that he had an altercation with in Week 16 and in Detroit.

After discussing Metcalf's incident, Alex and I take a tiny look ahead at the Steelers week 18 home game against the Ravens and whether either of us have much optimism when it comes to the home team winning that game and thus getting into the playoffs as the AFC North champions.

This 101-minute episode also discusses several other minor topics not noted and we wrap things up by answering several emails we received from listeners.

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