Minkah Fitzpatrick on the decisive penalty – “Can’t hit anyone hard”

INDIANAPOLIS – After his team’s first loss of the season, Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick expressed frustration over the unnecessary roughness penalty he drew late in the third quarter in a 27-24 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.

Fitzpatrick was charged with a hit on wide receiver Adonai Mitchell when quarterback Joe Flacco’s deep pass down the sideline fell incomplete with 1:32 left in the third quarter. Fitzpatrick ran towards Mitchell as the ball flew out of bounds, and although he caught up and didn’t head in, Fitzpatrick still collided with Mitchell.

Security officials told him after the game that Mitchell was a defenseless player.

“I thought we were playing football,” Fitzpatrick said. “I don’t know what we’re playing at this point. A very different game than the one I grew up with and the one I loved as a child. You can’t hit anyone hard, it can’t be violent. So I don’t know.” . I don’t know what to say anymore.

“They said he was a defenseless player and I hit him on the head. I don’t understand why he’s defenseless. Arms down at the last second, shouldn’t be a penalty. But like I said, you hit people hard and now they’re throwing flags.

Fitzpatrick was also asked if his swing led him to score.

“Yeah, it shouldn’t matter because I have every right to get the ball,” Fitzpatrick said. “If I don’t clean him up and stick my head in his head, it shouldn’t be a punishment. I’m allowed to go on the ball, just like he’s allowed to go on the ball, and I’m not even allowed to go on the ball. “I don’t know how we’re supposed to play anymore.

The 15-yard penalty gave the Colts a new set of downs instead of third-and-longs and allowed them to cross midfield. The Colts eventually scored on the drive and took a 24-10 lead. At the time of Fitzpatrick’s penalty, the Steelers were trailing the Colts by a touchdown and attempting a comeback after blowing a 17-0 lead in the first half.

“That was bullshit—,” teammate DeShon Elliott said of the decision against Fitzpatrick. “I don’t care. I don’t care. That was nonsense. That wasn’t okay. That wasn’t illegal. He didn’t do anything malicious. He didn’t even hit him in the head. He beat him, led him along.” If anything, he slacked off. So I don’t know what it was about.