“Steelers not fazed by Minkah Fitzpatrick’s turnover drought”

Minkah Fitzpatrick is playing Minkah ball again. He was used too often as a strong safety last season and was hampered by leg injuries. However, he is healthy and has resumed his role as a free safety in 2024 thanks to the steady – and occasionally excellent – play of SS DeShon Elliott. The only thing missing are the big plays that usually come with Fitzpatrick roaming the middle.

The Steelers still don’t have a pick since January 1, 2023 and are confident those moves will come with time. Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin spoke to reporters on Thursday and, via PPG’s Ray Fittipaldo, made no mention of Fitzpatrick’s lack of splash plays.

“Sometimes it doesn’t happen right now, but I have full confidence because I know what kind of player Minkah is and the more opportunities he has and the longer he’s there, the more spectacular plays will come,” Austin said via a team-provided statement Transcript. “I’m not worried about that. I know how he runs our group in terms of communication and everything works from there and it runs a lot smoother.

“So I think we worked really well together as a unit, very smoothly overall, and so it’s going to turn heads. I won’t let myself get upset at this point.”

Fitzpatrick’s final insight ended the Steelers’ Week 17 win over the Baltimore Ravens in the 2022 season, making a great play on a poor throw by then-Ravens QB Tyler Huntley, a year in which he led the league in interceptions. Since then, Fitzpatrick has been a consistent and confident tackler, but missed the big plays he was known for in his first four years in Pittsburgh.

The lack of production last year was understandable. He was asked to consistently play close to the line of scrimmage while moving back and forth in the lineup due to injuries, with Fitzpatrick making ten starts and leaving several of those games early. Health-wise there was no problem this year. Neither has its positioning. According to our chart, he has only been in the penalty area for one snap this season, excluding goal line/below red zone situations. But the splash hasn’t caught up yet.

That’s partly because of how teams avoid Fitzpatrick. The Steelers were rarely attacked in the middle of the field, and when they were, it was sometimes through trickery. The Denver Broncos made a big play up the middle in Week 2, using a wildcat flip to QB Bo Nix. According to our chart, Minkah Fitzpatrick has been targeted 10 times in the Steelers’ first four games, allowing seven completions for 93 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.

His best chance to make big plays came last Sunday in the Steelers’ loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Although not officially credited, he helped force a fumble on Anthony Richardson, a hit that ultimately knocked the Colts QB from the game. Pittsburgh was unable to recover the loose ball. Fitzpatrick also had a chance to play a crucial third-and-long ball but passed up the reception and conversion.

Instead, Fitzpatrick’s game against the Colts is known for an erroneous, unnecessary roughness penalty that the NFL admitted was the wrong call for Mike Tomlin.

Fitzpatrick will look for his first pick on Sunday night against the Dallas Cowboys. QB Dak Prescott and Co. have taken care of the ball this year and only turned it over three times. That’s the same number as Pittsburgh. Both of Prescott’s interceptions resulted in an ugly Week 2 loss to the New Orleans Saints, with the ninth-year veteran keeping a clean sheet in his other three games.