The Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t play well enough against the Indianapolis Colts, but the officiating didn’t do them many favors. The referees were bad for both sides, but the calls that hurt the Steelers were huge. One of the biggest examples is when Minkah Fitzpatrick was flagged for unnecessary roughness on a clean hit. Former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was not happy with the call.
“I thought the Minkah [Fitzpatrick] hit on the sideline was an atrocious call,” Roethlisberger said Monday on his podcast, Footbahlin’ with Ben Roethlisberger. “Minkah, you are exactly right. You play the game the right way. You care about player safety. You care about the rules, the integrity of the game. I thought that was a good hit.
“I thought he hit him with his shoulder. I don’t think he launched. I think, if anything, Minkah kind of bounced off him. That changed the game because that’s a huge play.”
The play in question came with a little over a minute left in the third quarter. It was second-and-10, with the Colts hovering around midfield. The Steelers were only down by seven points, so getting a stop on that drive would’ve been massive. Joe Flacco launched a ball over receiver Adonai Mitchell’s head, which should’ve left the Colts staring at third-and-long.
Instead, the referees called a penalty on Fitzpatrick for hitting Mitchell too hard. Watching the play, it’s obvious that Fitzpatrick didn’t do anything illegal. Like Roethlisberger said, it looked like Fitzpatrick pulled up and bounced off Mitchell more than anything.
The officials felt differently, though, giving the Colts 15 free yards. They went on to score a touchdown that drive, putting the Steelers down by 14 points again. They still did their best to fight back, but that penalty undoubtedly had an impact on the final result.
Roethlisberger wasn’t the only former Steelers upset with that call. Former Steelers pass rusher James Harrison criticized the officials after the game, too. Both of them played during an era where hits far worse than that were common, so it makes sense that they would be upset.
Player safety should still be the most important part of the game, though. The rules are what they are to best protect the players. Football is just a game, and no one’s life should be ruined because of it. However, Fitzpatrick didn’t do anything wrong. It’s still a physical game, and there are far worse collisions that happen that don’t get flagged.
