For the second time in as many weeks and 13th time in 38 games with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Minkah Fitzpatrick had an interception during Sunday’s 17-14 loss to the New England Patriots.
Fitzpatrick’s interception of Mac Jones with 53 seconds left in the first quarter led to the Steelers’ first points, albeit only after the offense had followed it by driving 48 yards into field-goal range. Fitzpatrick stepped in front of DeVante Parker 35 yards downfield while Parker had a step in linebacker Alex Highsmith, who was in coverage.
“The one interception wasn’t good by me,” Jones said.
Fitzpatrick’s 13 interceptions since the start of the 2019 season are fifth-most in the NFL. Fitzpatrick had two other interceptions as a rookie in 2018 before his Week 3 trade to the Steelers from the Miami Dolphins. Counting five fumble recoveries, Fitzpatrick’s 18 takeaways over the past three-plus seasons rank tie for second in the NFL.
Fitzpatrick had a 31-yard pick-6 against Joe Burrow during last week’s season-opening 23-20 overtime win at the Cincinnati Bengals.
PICKED BY @minkfitz_21‼️
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 18, 2022
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Bush injury
Unlike last week, when several starters left the game at Cincinnati because of injury, the Steelers emerged from their Week 2 game relatively unscathed.
The only ailment referenced by coach Mike Tomlin in postgame remarks was inside linebacker Devin Bush, who did not finish the game because of what is believed to be an injury to his right ankle.
“He’s got a foot that’s being evaluated,” Tomlin said. “Other than that, I don’t have a lot of information.”
Bush was spotted in the Steelers locker room and was walking around unencumbered by any sort of brace or other medical equipment on his foot/leg.
Big crowd
The announced attendance of 67,307 was the biggest crowd at Acrisure Stadium (formerly Heinz Field) for a Steelers game since a franchise-record 68,574 showed up for a December 2017 meeting with New England.
For the Sept. 1 Backyard Brawl between Pitt and West Virginia, a Pittsburgh sports record crowd of 70,622 was announced.
Sunday was the first Steelers regular-season game with their 21-year-old North Shore venue named “Acrisure Stadium.”
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