Against his former team, Minkah Fitzpatrick continues to help Steelers pile up turnovers
One by one, Minkah Fitzpatrick fielded the questions from reporters from Pittsburgh and South Florida alike. And every time, Fitzpatrick insisted that a big game in a victory against his former team didn’t mean any more than a victory against any other team.
“I think any game if I ever had two ‘picks’ I would have a smile on my face after the game,” Fitzpatrick said after he had two interceptions during a 27-14 Pittsburgh Steelers win against the Miami Dolphins on Monday night. “It is my former team and my former teammates, and I have all the respect in the world for them. But it’s an NFL game — if I had two picks next week or last week, I would still have a smile on my face.”
Fitzpatrick’s fifth game as a Steeler became his third win with them — and this one came against the team that traded him for a first-round pick last month.
This one, like his Steelers debut five weeks before it, also featured two takeaways for Fitzpatrick. The starting free safety had an interception and forced fumble in his Steelers debut Sept. 22 at San Francisco, part of a five-takeaway game that ignited the Steelers defense’s turnover-inducing skills.
“Since he came, that 49ers game, and he’s showed that he’s a guy who can be our deep threat, the last guy, the biggest safety and cause picks,” Steelers receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster said. “He makes turnovers.”
Fitzpatrick, indeed, does. In five games with the Steelers, he has three interceptions, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. More globally — to borrow a Mike Tomlin term — Fitzpatrick’s arrival has coincided with a remarkable turnaround in regards to the Steelers defense and forcing turnovers.
The Steelers have as many takeaways in five games since Fitzpatrick was acquired (17) as they had in their previous 18 games before he joined them.
The Steelers now have as many takeaways in 5 games with Minkah Fitzpatrick than they had in the prior 18 games without him (17) https://t.co/FzKb0Q1fIT
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) October 29, 2019
“It’s just studying the game and working with my teammates and my coaches, playing fast, and just doing my job,” Fitzpatrick said. “Every single time you see me making plays, that’s me doing my job. It’s being on the details — if it’s a sack or sack-fumble or punching the ball out, a pick, hey, everybody is just doing their job.”
Fitzpatrick seems to be doing it better than most. And arguably he was doing it at his best against the team from which he requested a trade after an 0-2 start in which the tanking Dolphins were using him in ways he preferred not to be deployed.
Fitzpatrick was seen jawing with former teammates at multiple times Monday, but afterward he talked about how much he loved his former teammates and how much respect he had for them.
“Minkah is kind of a flat-liner,” Tomlin said. “I doubt it was anything personal or anything of that nature. He has the same general demeanor just about every weekend. Not that I’ve been around him a bunch of weekends, but he’s been ‘Steady Eddie’ with his approach.”
Fitzpatrick has shown why the Steelers felt comfortable trading their first-round pick for the first time in more than a half century. Monday was the latest proof.
“That dude, he covers the field well, and he shooting up and getting it,” Steelers defensive captain Cameron Heyward said. “He’s been a breath of fresh air since he got here. That kid can play — and he’s going to be a heck of a Steeler from here on out.”
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Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
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