The Pittsburgh Steelers are tied for third in the NFL with 22 takeaways this season. But 3-time All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick has caused just 1 of those turnovers.
That was a forced fumble in Pittsburgh’s last game against the Cleveland Browns. Fitzpatrick doesn’t have an interception since Week 17 of the 2022 season.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin told Pittsburgh sports personality Bob Pompeani that he wants to see Fitzpatrick make more splash plays. But Tomlin also defended his star safety when asked about Fitzpatrick’s lack of interceptions.
“Certainly, we’re interested in taking the ball away, and he’s a key component of that,” Tomlin said in an interview on Steelers.com. “But sometimes you’re not afforded the opportunity. People have other agendas.”
Fitzpatrick was tied for the NFL lead with 6 interceptions during the 2022 season. But he’s now gone 22 straight games without a pick.
That’s, by far, the longest interception drought of Fitzpatrick’s NFL career.
Minkah Fitzpatrick Addresses Interception-Less Streak
Tomlin’s sentiment echoed what Fitzpatrick told reporters a few weeks ago.
Fitzpatrick blamed his lack of chances for interceptions on the fact he doesn’t have any picks this season.
“There’s not much I can really do,” Fitzpatrick said, via The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Brian Batko. “I can’t tell quarterbacks to throw at me. I can’t abandon my zone to go make a play because of the position that I play.”
While he hasn’t forced turnovers, Fitzpatrick has been a very reliable safety this season. He’s posted 61 combined tackles with 2 pass defenses. According to the Pro Football Focus player grades, he’s the No. 11 safety in the league who’s played 80% of his team’s defensive snaps this season.
One area, though, where Fitzpatrick hasn’t faired well according to PFF is in coverage. Obviously, coverage skills is what leads to interceptions.
But Fitzpatrick is focused on continuing to play as he has with perhaps a little more upside for takeaways.
“I think there’s some things I could do — take more calculated risks to go get the ball,” added Fitzpatrick.
Steelers Top 5 Defense in Interceptions
Although Fitzpatrick doesn’t have any interceptions this season, the Steelers are still tied for fifth with 12 interceptions as a team. That’s, in large part, because of cornerbacks Donte Jackson and Beanie Bishop Jr.
Jackson and Bishop have combined for 7 of the team’s 12 picks this season. Five other Steelers also have 1 interception each.
Jackson nearly returned his interception against the Las Vegas Raiders for a touchdown in Week 6. Bishop did the same versus the New York Jets, getting tackled at the 1-yard line to set up the Pittsburgh offense.
Bishop recorded 2 interceptions against the Jets. He also had one to seal the victory versus the New York Giants.
The Steelers are 4-2 when Jackson or Bishop record an interception this season.
As long as other players are intercepting passes, it’s not as big of a deal that Fitzpatrick isn’t recording splash plays for the Steelers.
But Pittsburgh’s defense will be able to get to another level if Fitzpatrick can begin taking the ball away with regularity during the 2024 stretch run as he did two years ago.
