The Pittsburgh Steelers have a divisional matchup this Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens in their first game of the season against each other. There are some new faces to be introduced to this rivalry for the first time on both sides of the ball. One player in particular who has been off to a hot start for the Ravens in his rookie season is wide receiver Zay Flowers. He was drafted in the first round with the 22nd overall selection. There were some questions leading up to the draft about Flowers’ size, standing just 5-foot-9 and weighing 182 pounds, though he bulked up throughout the pre-draft process.
Per Brooke Pryor of ESPN, Patrick Peterson had some comments about potentially covering Flowers on Sunday.
“It’s going to be fun trying to keep our eye on that little munchkin,” Peterson said.
Through four games, Flowers has 24 receptions for 244 yards though he hasn’t found the end zone yet. His 24 receptions are six more than the team leader on the Steelers, RB Jaylen Warren. His biggest play of the year so far was a 52-yard reception in contested coverage against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week Two.
On the flip side, Peterson has struggled in his first four games with the Steelers allowing 14 receptions on 22 targets into his coverage, registering just a 63.7 overall grade from Pro Football Focus.
Peterson has his own podcast with former Steelers’ DB Bryant McFadden and thus many of his opinions end up making their way to the news cycle. In Week One against the San Francisco 49ers he all but guaranteed an interception.
“Because there is some tell signs out there that tells us what plays we’re gonna get when those guys are in certain situations,” Peterson told McFadden, “When I get my pick Sunday, we’ll talk about it”.
That interception did not come to pass, and he even allowed two touchdowns into in that Week One game.
Peterson is also new to this rivalry. Though he has been around the league long enough to know what it’s all about, you can’t fully know until you have been a participant. It didn’t appear to be an intentional slight on Flowers, and he did offer up praise prior to the quote, but it may act as some bulletin board material for Flowers. Peterson is going to need to back up his talk on Sunday against the shifty rookie.
