Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick registered his fourth interception of the season on Sunday in the team’s home win over the Indianapolis Colts and this time the former first-round draft pick of the Miami Dolphins out of Alabama returned it 96 yards for a touchdown.
After the game, Fitzpatrick was asked to describe what he saw on that play that led to him intercepting the pass from Colts quarterback Brian Hoyer that was intended for tight end Jack Doyle in the end zone with 2:36 left in the first half.
“I was just reading the quarterback,” Fitzpatrick said. “He [Hoyer] looked right first and then look hard left, shoulders turned and everything. So, I just started drifting that way, he let go of the ball, just went and got it.”
Hoyer was in the game at quarterback due to starter Jacoby Brissett being knocked out of the contest in the second quarter with a sprained knee. Because Hoyer had to take over due to injury, Fitzpatrick was asked if that played into the favor of the Steelers due to Brissett being so careful with the football so far this season as evidenced by his low interception totals
“Honestly, Hoyer, he’s experienced guy,” Fitzpatrick said. “He’s an experienced guy so we had to play the same type of game, you know what I’m saying? There’s a couple of passes he made in the game that were high level throws. On the one touchdown it was a high-level throw, put it right over my head in the right spot. He’s an experienced quarterback, so the approach was the same exact thing.”
Fitzpatrick’s 96-yard interception return for the touchdown was the the second-longest in Steelers history in the regular season. After the game, head coach Mike Tomlin was asked if Fitzpatrick’s interception was just another example of great anticipation by the young safety.
“Yeah, Minkah needs no endorsement for me,” Tomlin said. “The tape is his storyteller. He’s been really rock solid.”
Fitzpatrick, who was acquired by the Steelers from the Dolphins in Week 3 in exchange for a first-round draft pick, has registered 30 total tackles, four interceptions, six passes defensed, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery in the six games he’s played in with Pittsburgh.
