The Steelers' 24-20 loss to the 49ers had plenty of negatives, but one bright spot was Minkah Fitzpatrick. His five tackles, one forced fumble and an interception highlighted all the factors that had been missing from the Steelers' defense.
Let's take a closer look at his biggest moments:
Fitzpatrick has a long list of skills that makes him a diverse weapon for any defense. He combines uncanny athleticism with the instincts and football IQ of a veteran star. Many safeties can line up in different spots to cover receivers, but few can line up in a traditional safety position and jump on an underneath slot route.
That's what Fitzpatrick does here on Richie James Jr. Fitzpatrick's the deep safety but takes on an underneath receiver to minimize the gain. While this isn't a splash play, having a safety make this play from that far back affords a defense more disguises so quarterbacks can't tell who Fitzpatrick is truly guarding:
What often makes someone an X-factor is how they find ways to create turnovers. Fitzpatrick took part in two last week, including this forced fumble. When Raheem Mostert busted through the Steelers' line, Fitzpatrick had the best shot on him. But unlike Steelers' free safeties of the past, he didn't just bring him down.
He put his helmet right on the ball, popping it loose from the arms of Mostert:
Guys like that find ways to consistently be in the right position. And even if they're not in the most opportune position, they take advantage of even the slightest of chances to make plays.
That's what happened on his interception. Watch how he's playing the single-high Cover 1 safety. The Steelers are in man coverage, which means Fitzpatrick's responsible for the whole field, but he locks on to where the ball is targeted. When Joe Haden breaks up the pass, Fitzpatrick puts himself right by the ball, plucks it out of the air and gets moving:
Fitzpatrick is that player who creates ways to win that other players won't. That's what makes him an X-factor already for the Steelers' defense. They'll need him to do that a lot more this season as their defense searches for an identity.
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MORE CLASSROOM
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