During their three-game losing streak, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense was leaking. Patrick Peterson helped plug it. Moving to safety after playing cornerback for nearly all of his 13-year career, Peterson was tasked to change roles as the secondary was rocked by absences and injuries. No Minkah Fitzpatrick, Damontae Kazee, Keanu Neal, and Trenton Thompson.
After filling in partway through Week 15’s loss to the Indianapolis Colts, Peterson made his first start against the Cincinnati Bengals. He walked out of Acriusre Stadium with an interception, steady overall play, and, most importantly, a victory. On the latest episode of the Footbahlin podcast, Ben Roethlisberger credited Peterson for seamlessly making the move.
“Mink being out, they’re gonna move Pat Pete [to safety],” Roethlisberger told his co-host and engineer Spence. “A position which he has never, I think, maybe hadn’t done that or only done it a couple of times. So I think that makes you a little nervous. The good news is Pat Pete’s a vet. To me, that’s awesome that he’s able to do that. That you can put him in that situation.”
Playing safety wasn’t completely foreign to Peterson, but doing so in an every-down, full-time capacity certainly was. Speaking after the Colts’ game, when Peterson initially made the switch for the defense’s final 34 snaps, he told reporters he leaned on the first week of training camp, where he took safety reps while Fitzpatrick was away with a personal matter.
When Peterson signed with the team, the Steelers envisioned using him in a Cam Sutton-type of role. Someone who could play anywhere in the secondary. For the first half of the season, that plan remained a theory, with Peterson mostly sticking at the outside corner, only playing inside in dime packages. But as Joey Porter Jr. ascended up the depth chart and earned a starting role, Peterson saw more time inside. Still, Pittsburgh didn’t intend on using Peterson at safety in anything more than a dime package role, occasionally rotating with a true safety to create different post-snap pictures.
While Pittsburgh kept things relatively simple, Peterson held his own. He tackled well enough and took advantage of QB Jake Browning’s first mistake, a failed attempted throwaway intercepted by Peterson in the end zone.
“I saw him a couple of times being down [in the box], and then he’d run back,” Roethlisberger added. “He disguised really well. So for a guy that plays corner and nickel to be able to do all the stuff that he did [Saturday] was gonna be key to the game.”
Roethlisberger’s praise and commentary were shared by his current teammates, including Mike Tomlin and T.J. Watt for handling the switch as well as could be expected.
Since a tough first month to the season, Peterson has settled in and played well. It’s helped that Porter often shadows the opponent’s toughest receiver, but Peterson has become a solid No. 2 corner. And for Saturday’s win, a solid starting safety. It’s a role he may have to keep Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks. Kazee is suspended for the rest of the regular season, and it doesn’t sound promising for Minkah Fitzpatrick or Keanu Neal to return.
Ultimately, Peterson’s emergency safety showing may push him into a permanent role. A corner-to-safety transition that many make. That’s the story of the man who started opposite Peterson, Eric Rowe, who began his career as an NFL corner before moving to safety mid-way through his career.
