Entering December, the Pittsburgh Steelers are getting healthy at just the right time.
After missing the last four weeks, star safety Minkah Fitzpatrick is on track to play Sunday against the visiting Arizona Cardinals, returning from a hamstring injury suffered against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week Eight at Acrisure Stadium.
His anticipated return to the lineup will mark the first time that the big three on the Steelers’ defense — that being T.J. Watt, Heyward and Fitzpatrick — will be on the field together since the season-opener against the San Francisco 49ers, all the way back on Sept. 11.
For Steelers’ defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, potentially having all three back together on the field Sunday should provide the Steelers’ defense with a big boost.
“I think it helps our defense when we have three quality players like that, and I think we’ve got to get those guys better and playing, and if we get them all together and we’re playing well and we continue with an upward trajectory, I think we’re going to like it,” Austin said to reporters Thursday, according to the official transcript provided by the team. “Because I think we have outstanding players, and those guys are three at the best at their position in the league.
“If we have all three of them on the field together, we can only hope we play better.”
Without Fitzpatrick, the Steelers have had to patch things in the secondary, leaning heavily on veteran Patrick Peterson to handle some snaps in sub-package at safety, as well as veteran Damontae Kazee and Trenton Thompson at the safety position. To their credit, those three have handled their roles quite well, helping the Steelers limit opponents to scoring outputs of 16, 19, 13 and 10 points in the last four weeks.
Now, Fitzpatrick appears poised to return to the lineup against the Cardinals, which will be a big addition to a defense that is playing quite well. Having all three big-name players back in the lineup will have the Steelers operating at relatively full strength defensively. Last season, when the trio was on the field together, the Steelers went 7-2.
In 2021 when all three were on the field together, Pittsburgh was 9-5-1.
Together, the trio really affects outcomes of games, whether it’s Heyward and Watt getting after the quarterback or Fitzpatrick patrolling in the middle of the field, picking off passes.
The Steelers’ defense is playing well currently, but getting an All-Pro safety like Fitzpatrick back will be massive and should help the defense be even better down the stretch as the Steelers continue their run toward the playoffs.
