ESPN's Marcus Spears had receipts for those who were critical of his take about DK Metcalf. Insert: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
By Ben Axelrod on

Marcus Spears drew the ire of several Pittsburgh Steelers fans last week after he criticized DK Metcalf for earning a two-game suspension for the final two weeks of the regular season.

But after the Steelers failed to clinch the AFC North by losing to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday — forcing a do-or-die game against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 18— it was the ESPN analyst who had the last laugh.

And lest you thought Spears would shrug off the backlash to his take, you clearly aren’t familiar with Swaggu’s game. Look no further than his X account on Monday morning, as the former Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman filled his timeline with retweets responding to the replies he received throughout the last week.

After one of the social media users who Spears replied to begged him to stop, the former LSU star elaborated on the reasoning behind his retweet spree.

“Nah!!! The receipts must be read like yall read mine! I just felt like reading this morning,” he wrote.

As for the take that fired up Steelers Nation, it was actually fairly benign. After Metcalf received his two-game suspension for his altercation with a Detroit Lions fan, the NFL Live analyst merely noted that the timing was hardly ideal for Pittsburgh to be missing one of its best offensive players.

“It’s the worst possible time not to have him,” Spears said. “And it’s not because they don’t have an opportunity to win these two games. It’s because this team has been ascending these last three games and he’s been a part of that. Look, we’re just coming off of four weeks ago, talking about this team having no identity. Didn’t know where this offense was going to go, they weren’t making explosive plays. And in one week, it was Aaron Rodgers to DK Metcalf in particular that changed their volume on no passes over 15 yards. And you started to see this offense matriculating and rolling. And he was a big part of that.”

Spears also noted that despite Cleveland’s lousy overall record, the Browns’ defense has been one of the more difficult units for opposing offenses throughout the 2025 season.

All things considered, Spears’ analysis was more than fair. And unfortunately for Steelers fans, it also proved prophetic, as he was eager to remind them on Monday morning.

About Ben Axelrod

Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.

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