The Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense of the 2010s was largely dreadful. They won games in spite of that unit, not because of it. And while they began to turn things around by drafting T.J. Watt in 2017 and signing Joe Haden in 2018, Pittsburgh still needed a momentum-changer in the form of a splash play artist.
Enter Minkah Fitzpatrick.
After losing Ben Roethlisberger for the entire season in Week 2 of the 2019 season, the Steelers traded their 2020 first-round pick to the Miami Dolphins for the young safety, making it known they weren’t punting on the season. Rather, they were going to lean on their defense to win games, and Fitzpatrick helped them do just that. In his first game as a Steeler against the San Francisco 49ers, Fitzpatrick had an interception off Jimmy Garoppolo. And while the Steelers ended up falling to the 49ers, Fitzpatrick and the defense helped the Steelers rally from an 0-3 start into the playoff picture.
Pittsburgh would go on to win eight of its next 10 games. Over that season, Fitzpatrick picked off four passes, the most notable being a 96-yard pick-six off Brian Hoyer to help Pittsburgh defeat the Indianapolis Colts. This was the first of three interceptions returned for touchdowns that Fitzpatrick would accumulate during his time in a Steelers uniform. He also added a fumble return for a touchdown in 2019 against the Los Angeles Rams.
The defining game of his career, in my opinion, came in Week 1 of the 2022 season against the Cincinnati Bengals. Fitzpatrick had a pick-six off Joe Burrow on the first defensive series of the season. He also led the team with 14 tackles and blocked what would have been the game-winning extra point to send the game into overtime, where the Steelers would win on a last-second field goal from Chris Boswell in one of the most insane games in franchise history.
Here's the blocked extra point that pushed the Bengals-Steelers game to overtime. Minkah Fitzpatrick splits between Hakeem Adeniji and Drew Sample on the left side. pic.twitter.com/RKFp5AAwB9
— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) September 14, 2022
His three All-Pro selections from 2019-22 were tied for the most among all safeties in the NFL, and he solidified himself as one of the best Steelers defenders of the last 25 years. In an era where the offense was awful and the defense had to do all the heavy lifting, Fitzpatrick was one of those guys who held the most weight. Salute to No. 39 for all he did in a Steelers uniform.
