When the Steelers traded for Minkah Fitzptrick, I immediately wrote about how different he was than any defensive piece they'd added in recent years.
Their 26-24 win over the Colts, Sunday at Heinz Field, was a clear reminder of just how big of an addition he's been.
Let's break down his day, including his game changing interception returned for a touchdown:
Fitzpatrick finished the game with seven tackles, second most on the team, and had a 96-yard interception return for a touchdown. That play was the Steelers' only touchdown of the first half, and one of two touchdowns they would score in a tight game.
Let's focus on that play and why it was so special, because it featured several elements the Steelers have been missing in their secondary since the days of Troy Polamalu.
Playing deep safety and making plays while flying to the ball is one of the biggest game-changing abilities in football. It's why Earl Thomas, Kevin Byard, and Tyrann Mathieu each make over $13 million a year.
Fitzpatrick has all those skills. Here's the interception where he's the single high safety reading Brian Hoyer's eyes. Hoyer had thrown all but one of his passes at this point to his tight ends, with a third down conversion to Eric Ebron and a touchdown to Jack Doyle. He tries again for Doyle on a deep angle route.
The route is a good call because it forces Joe Haden to come from the outside and trail Doyle over the middle, leaving a good window for Hoyer to target. But Fitzpatrick reads all of it, never biting on the play action, breaking quickly to get to the ball and finishing the play with a touchdown:
It was the Steelers' second longest interception return in their regular-season history, the longest being a 99-yard interception return by Marty Kottler in 1933 against the Chicago Cardinals.
Fitzpatrick noted after the game that the play was something the defense prepared for and that he read from Hoyer's body language.
"It was a concept that they run and we saw on film," Fitzpatrick said after the game. "I was just reading the quarterback for the most part. I was anticipating a bunch of different route concepts, but there I was just reading the quarterback. He was looking right, then his shoulders turned to the left hard, I saw the receiver and went for the ball."
Those kind of instincts can lead to big plays. But when you combine instincts with a highly prepared football player with a high football IQ, like Fitzpatrick, those instincts do lead to big plays.
Joe Haden was right there diving to break up the pass, and was in awe at how Fitzpatrick made the play.
"It's honestly amazing," Haden said of Fitzpatrick's game. "I didn't even see him. I thought I had two guys covering with me. When the ball came I tried to just dive and break up the pass. He just zoomed right by us. I was so happy. I was laying on my head, then I looked up and he was on the 20-yard line and I just put my arms up. Minkah's a great player, a ballhawk that loves the game and continues to make great plays for us."
Haden was supposed to be the guy that would lead the secondary this season as the veteran playmaker. And he's the one looking up and cheering for his younger teammate doing just that. Fitzpatrick inspires everyone on the defense.
And he isn't just a ballhawk, he helps plenty against the run. Here you can see him come from playing deep safety to help against a reverse to Parris Campbell. Campbell is a speed demon rookie that broke contain when T.J. Watt missed a tackle.
Mark Barron was sealed inside by Braden Smith, and the sideline was open. But Fitzpatrick flies to the ball and breaks down into a solid defensive position to force Campbell out of bounds:
He has an excellent nose for the football, with 30 tackles for the Steelers in just six games. That's the eighth best on the team after their win today.
What's remarkable about that is how Fitzpatrick flies around the field and makes these tackles, often as the furthest away from a run and still come up to the line and provide run support. Watch how he did that on this tackle of Marlon Mack. Dupree does a good job establishing the edge, but Mack spins outside of him to find open space. But Fitzpatrick jumps around Dupree and brings him down for a minimal gain:
The Steelers have 22 turnovers this season after forcing three more today, that's the second most in the NFL behind the Patriots' 26 going into their Sunday night game against the Ravens.
Fitzpatrick accounts for five of those turnovers, with four interceptions and a forced fumble. His four interceptions are the most by a Steelers defender since Polamalu's seven interceptions in his NFL Defensive MVP performance in 2010.
If the turnovers continue for this Steelers secondary, it negates all the narratives about that unit that have swirled for years. Haden and Steven Nelson have brought stability at outside cornerback, and Mike Hilton and Terrell Edmunds have helped over the middle against the run and breaking up passes.
But the true X-factor of the secondary is Fitzpatrick. And that makes him the most valuable of the bunch.
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MORE CLASSROOM
Oct. 31: Rudolph's timing challenges
Oct. 30: Receivers reinforce at right time
Oct. 29: Power is back on for Conner
Oct. 28: Watt mixes fire with finesse
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
Steelers vs. Colts, Heinz Field, Nov. 3, 2019 -- MATT SUNDAY / DKPS