The Pittsburgh Steelers experienced some serious attrition at the safety position last Saturday against the Indianapolis Colts with S Minkah Fitzpatrick getting knocked out of the game with a knee injury, S Trenton Thompson missing time with a stinger, and S Damontae Kazee getting ejected for a big hit on WR Michael Pittman Jr.
Kazee has been suspended for the rest of the season by the NFL while head coach Mike Tomlin already ruled out Fitzpatrick for Saturday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Thompson failed to practice on Tuesday with a neck injury while S Elijah Riley just had his 21-day window opened to come back from IR but has yet to be cleared to return from an ankle injury.
CB Patrick Peterson ended up moving to safety during the Colts game after Pittsburgh lost most of its safety room Saturday night, playing a high number of snaps along with Miles Killebrew getting some run there as well. Peterson spoke about his experience playing safety with former Steelers CB Bryant McFadden, stating that it’s a different feeling knowing he’s the last line of defense when running backs get to the second and third levels of the field.
“It was actually pretty cool being able to surface some things,” Peterson said on All Things Covered, which aired on the show’s YouTube Channel. “But I tell you boy, them linebackers and them d-linemen, they need to corral. I told Kazee boy, I said, ‘Boy, I see how it is back here, boy, when they get to that second and third level. It is you and him and with nothing but green grass, Lord have mercy.”
When you are playing on the back end of the defense, you have the benefit of seeing everything in front of you and having more of a straight path to the football both in coverage and in run defense. The problem is that you are often the last line of defense with no one behind you to cover for you if you happen to get beat in coverage or miss a tackle.
Peterson got to experience this on Saturday against Indianapolis, having to come downhill and fill the alley as a run defender, knowing that he had to secure the tackle, otherwise the runner would have plenty of green grass if he missed. Peterson shouldn’t be making many tackles as it is from the safety spot, but that’s what happens when the Colts’ running game gets going and the front seven fails to stop the run. The combination of backup RBs Trey Sermon and Tyler Goodson rushed for over 150 yards after backup RB Zack Moss left the game due to injury.
Peterson will likely find himself in a similar situation this Saturday against the Bengals with Fitzpatrick and Kazee missing the game and the status of Thompson uncertain. The team could give S Eric Rowe some run after Tomlin mentioned that he could get some exposure this week due to the injuries and suspension. But we should expect to see Peterson play some safety given the amount of snaps he’s seen there this season as Pittsburgh continues to deal with injuries to the middle of its defense at safety and inside linebacker.
