DETROIT — If the Pittsburgh Steelers have to clinch a playoff berth on their own they’re going to have to do it without DK Metcalf, their top receiver who was suspended for two games by the NFL for “conduct detrimental to the NFL” following his sideline incident with a Detroit Lions fan during Sunday’s 29-24 victory at Ford Field.

Metcalf will appeal his suspension, but if the suspension is upheld he will miss the final two games of the regular season against the Cleveland Browns and the Baltimore Ravens. This could end up being a big deal or no deal at all.

If the Green Bay Packers defeat the Ravens on Saturday the Steelers will win the AFC North division title and qualify for the AFC playoffs. However, if the Ravens beat the Packers the Steelers would have to beat either the Browns or the Ravens to win the division and their berth in the postseason.

Metcalf did not speak with media Sunday after the game, and the Steelers declined to comment Monday evening on the NFL’s decision to suspend their star receiver.

Metcalf was involved in a bizarre exchange with Ryan Kennedy, the man in a blue wig who was sitting behind the visitors’ sideline in the first half of the game. CBS cameras captured the exchange where Metcalf pulled the man toward him and appeared to throw a punch at him or shove him.

While Metcalf did not speak with reporters after the game he and his representatives tried to get his side of the story communicated through former NFL receiver Chad Johnson. According to Johnson, Metcalf said the Lions fan used a racial slur and more profanity, including vulgar language directed at Metcalf’s mother. Johnson was discussing the game on a podcast with Shannon Sharpe when he cited his information from Metcalf.

The Detroit Free Press spoke with Kennedy, who claimed all he did was call Metcalf by his full name, DeKaylin Zecharius Metcalf. Kennedy insisted that’s what set off the chain of events in which Metcalf grabbed him by the shirt and then pushed him back away from the railing. The fan also told the Free Press that Metcalf ripped his shirt.

Security staff was reviewing footage of the sequence for a long period of time through the end of the first half and into halftime. The fan was not ejected and returned to his seat for the second half. A police officer was involved in those discussions, as well, and it appeared he was looking at cell phone video from another fan nearby.

Kennedy released a statement via Head Murphy Law that “categorically denies using the ‘N-word,’ the ‘C-word,’ or any racial, misogynistic, or hate-based slur” toward Metcalf.

“The claims suggesting otherwise are untrue and are not supported by video evidence, eyewitness accounts, or any contemporaneous reporting,” the statement continued. “Despite reports in the media last night and today, Mr. Kennedy has not used such language during any interaction with Mr. Metcalf or any other players in the past.”

A second angle of the kerfuffle hit social media Sunday night, which made Metcalf’s response look more like a grab and less like a punch than what the CBS broadcast captured. Nonetheless, the NFL will be under the microscope when it comes to its handling of a player getting physical with a paying customer.

According to NFL Network, Metcalf had a previous encounter with Kennedy, reporting the fan to Seattle Seahawks security while he was still playing for the Seahawks.

There aren’t many precedents for such a situation, particularly in the NFL, where the crowd is further from the athletes than, say, someone sitting courtside at a basketball game or standing above a bullpen at a ballpark. Maybe it’s something about Detroit. This June, Pirates reliever Dennis Santana took a swing at a fan at Detroit’s Comerica Park and was suspended four games by MLB.

This certainly wasn’t that, but it is unclear why Metcalf was leaving the Steelers’ bench area to engage with a fan in the first place. If the man yelled an epithet that Metcalf could hear so clearly in an environment as loud as Ford Field, it stands to reason others in earshot would’ve heard it, too.

If the Steelers don’t have Metcalf against the Browns and if Calvin Austin III — who left the Lions game with a hamstring injury — doesn’t play, they’ll be down to Adam Thielen, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Scotty Miller, Ben Skowronek and Roman Wilson at receiver.

Skowronek is dealing with a left hand injury and wearing a cast while he does his typical special teams duty, so he’s been even less involved in the offense than usual. As for Wilson, he has been a healthy scratch the past three games since Thielen was acquired.

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