At this point in his career, Pittsburgh Steelers veteran cornerback Patrick Peterson has been there, done that. Seen that, stopped that.
The stops might be becoming less and less frequent in Year 13 in the NFL, but he saved some of his best for last on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers in Week 10 at Acrisure Stadium.
On a 2nd and 9 from the Steelers’ 14-yard line, the Packers tried an out-and-up route from second-year receiver Christian Watson, looking to take advantage of the 33-year-old Peterson with his speed and athleticism.
Peterson was having none of it. He was able to stay in phase, got his head around and made a play on the football, tipping the ball into the air. That led to a Keanu Neal interception, keeping the Packers off the board in a close game.
For Peterson, the play was one he’s seen many times. He knew to get his head around and look to the sky.
“And that’s where a lot of DBs make a mistake,” Peterson said to Go Long’s Tyler Dunne following the game. “You’re always looking back at the quarterback. You’ve got to look high because the ball is coming out of the sky.”
Instead of looking eye level for the football trying to play the ball through the hands, Peterson knew in that situation to get his eyes to the sky, as he says, find the football and go up and make a play.
Plus, instead of batting it to the turf, Peterson knew to play a bit of a tip drill there, just like they work on in training camp and practices, leading to Neal running underneath the ball for the interception, changing the game entirely.
Having played 12,750 snaps in his career to date, Peterson knew just what to do in that situation. He never panicked, didn’t get out of position and let the play come to him. After the 23-19 loss, Watson noted to Dunne in the Packers’ locker room that Peterson was playing more towards the outside, shrinking room to run the route on the play.
The Packers felt they could hit the Steelers with a double move at that point after seeing Pittsburgh jump some out routes throughout the game. But the Steelers were disciplined in this instance, and the cagey veteran came through with his best play of the season, leading to a key turnover in that spot, helping the Steelers hang on for a win.
