Patrick Peterson looks natural playing safety. But it doesn’t mean he’s going to be perfect. Still adjusting to his new role, Peterson learned a lesson in a painful way in Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks. Speaking to reporters accepting his ‘Chief’ Award for the Steeler with the best media relationship, he was asked about QB Geno Smith’s touchdown to WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba, a throw that went over Peterson’s head.
“We got that same exact route in practice,” Peterson told reporters via the Steelers’ YouTube channel. “It was just a little bit further down in the red zone. I believe we got it at the 8-yard line, and in the game, they gave it to us at the 12. So my alignment and practice was where it was in the game, but I should have been a little bit deeper because the ball was at the 12-yard line and not the 8-yard line.”
Here’s a look at the play. Not only did Smith throw Peterson’s way, he targeted CB James Pierre, replacing the injured Joey Porter Jr. Peterson was playing the goal line and couldn’t get enough depth to get a hand on the ball or force more arc on the throw, increasing the chances Pierre could make a play on it.
The score put Seattle up 14-10, though Pittsburgh answered back with a RB Najee Harris touchdown to retake the lead. As Peterson outlined, he was playing with about 13 yards of depth. If the ball were at the eight, as it was in practice, that would’ve put him halfway into the end zone and in position to make an impact on the throw or prevent Smith from attempting the pass entirely. Because the line of scrimmage was different, four yards farther away, Peterson didn’t adjust and get additional depth, causing him to be too shallow.
“That was just not being in the best position to make a play on that ball. Just needed a little bit more depth to force the quarterback to add a little bit more height on it.”
An unfortunate outcome, but Peterson was making only his second start at safety for the Steelers, ushered to his new spot due to the slew of injuries and suspensions the team has encountered over the last month. If there’s a time to learn lessons, it’s in victories, and Peterson said he won’t make the same mistake twice.
“It’s definitely a different world back there. And you have to understand the different landmarks when you have dropping responsibilities. And that was just one of those, I just dropped down a little bit too low.”
With Minkah Fitzpatrick potentially returning for Saturday’s finale, it’s unclear if Peterson could stay at safety for this game or shift back to primarily playing cornerback. Perhaps Fitzpatrick will play strong safety in this game and stop the run while Peterson stays at free safety. It’s not an ideal role for Fitzpatrick, but he’s more physical and a far better tackler, making him a fit in the box, and if it’s the best thing to get a victory Pittsburgh needs, it’s worth doing.
Overall, Peterson has held his own playing safety and looks comfortable in that spot. So much so that he’s rethinking being against a position change, once saying if he had to move to safety, he’d just retire instead. Now, it might be the ticket to extend his Hall of Fame career.
