It was a momentous occasion for All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick against the Baltimore Ravens as he snapped his interception drought of 25 games with a pick against Lamar Jackson.
According to multiple accounts on site during Monday’s media availability in the locker room, Fitzpatrick wasn’t in a chatty mood — still clearly bothered by the 34-17 loss to the Ravens.
When asked about his interception to break the streak, Fitzpatrick didn’t have much to say.
“Doesn’t matter,” he said via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Brian Batko on X.
To Fitzpatrick, all that’s mattered all along is helping the team win. The fact that he got an interception in a loss serves as no consolation prize. While the streak ending doesn’t mean much to him, there are certainly many fans who will care.
His streak had become a bit of a weekly talking point among the local media. Fitzpatrick signed a contract that reset the value of the safety market ahead of the 2022 season. He had six interceptions that season and then his big-play production started to take a nosedive.
His coaches and peers have defended his value at every turn, saying much of what he does for the defense doesn’t show up in the box score. There’s something to that for sure. Playing the highest percentage of free safety of his career until very recently, Fitzpatrick was taking away the middle of the field and helping keep a lid on anything deep. It’s probably no big surprise that there’s been an uptick in explosive passing plays against the Steelers while DeShon Elliott has been out injured and Fitzpatrick has been spending more time in the box up closer to the line of scrimmage.
Fitzpatrick spent the least amount of time at free safety yesterday as he has all season with just 15 snaps. He was primarily aligned as a slot corner against the Ravens with 22 snaps there and 15 more in the box. The Steelers moved him around a lot to help fill in the gaps of a beat-up secondary and it resulted in his first takeaway in almost two full calendar years.
Before the season, Fitzpatrick and DC Teryl Austin talked about wanting to get him back to playing “Minkah ball”. The key to that is finding the balance of moving him around while also maximizing his snaps at free safety where he can keep a lid on the entire defense.
Once Elliott returns, will this inspire the Steelers to move him around a bit more? It sounds like Fitzpatrick doesn’t care as long as the Steelers are winning.
