Defensive back Patrick Peterson nabbed his second interception of the season in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Week 16 34-11 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. In the first quarter with Cincinnati driving, QB Jake Browning was chased out of the pocket and lofted a pass into the end zone, which Peterson grabbed for a pick. During the latest episode of his All Things Covered podcast, Peterson said the interception was a “gift.”
“We was in a red zone Cover Two, and quite honestly, Jake threw me a gift,” Peterson said. “But I’m not complaining. I’ll take it. I add that to my collection of my interceptions that I have throughout my career.”
Peterson was playing half-field safety on the play, but he didn’t have to do a whole lot to get the pick. Browning was chased out of the pocket and just threw the ball up for grabs with none of his receivers in the vicinity.
It’s one of the easier interceptions a defensive back can get, and it was Peterson’s first interception while playing safety. It was his first start at safety, filling in for the injured Trenton Thompson and Minkah Fitzpatrick and the suspended Damontae Kazee, and the early splash play helped set the tone for what ended up being a solid day for Peterson at the position.
It’s a ball Browning should have just thrown away and let Cincinnati settle for three. Instead it ended up being Steelers’ ball, and the Bengals wouldn’t get on the scoreboard until the second half.
“I kind of beat the receiver to his punch. I didn’t think that Jake was gonna throw the ball because I saw him under duress, I thought he was gonna throw the ball away,” Peterson said of his interception. “I said, ‘Oh, I might have a shot. Ok, thank you.'”
The interception helped keep points off the board for the Bengals and allowed the Steelers to carry their momentum forward. They ended up putting together a scoring drive off the interception, and then an Eric Rowe interception later in the half helped set up a 21-0 lead that Pittsburgh extended to 24-0 at the half.
While the Steelers were dominant on both sides of the ball, the tenor of the game could’ve changed just a bit if the Bengals were able to put points on the board and cut the lead to 7-3. Instead, Peterson’s interception kept them off the board, and while it was a really nice early Christmas gift, Peterson deserves credit for making the right read and making a play on the ball.
Watch the full All Things Covered Podcast below.
