Minkah Fitzpatrick took direct aim at the referees in Sunday’s Colts-Steelers matchup after he was assessed a game-changing personal foul.
The penalty was issued for a perceived late hit on Colts wide receiver Adonai Mitchell, with Fitzpatrick believing the collision was a legal consequence of his momentum while decrying the current state of officiating.
“I thought we were playing football, I don’t know what we’re playing at this point,” Fitzpatrick said. “[It’s a] very different game than what I grew up playing and what I grew up loving. Can’t hit nobody hard, can’t be violent, so I don’t know what to say anymore.”
Fitzpatrick was at the center of another pair of controversial hits on Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson before halftime as well, first connecting with the second-year quarterback’s oblique area during a powerful open-field collision. Richardson was sidelined for two plays before immediately attempting a zone read, crumbling into an awkward slide that led Fitzpatrick, while seemingly trying to check his tackle, to make contact with Richardson’s head — the No. 4 overall draft pick in 2023 would not return to Sunday’s game.
It’s not the first time Fitzpatrick has publically criticized NFL officials after receiving a controversial penalty, taking his grievances regarding a December 2021 personal foul to Twitter. Fitzpatrick appeared to deliver a well-timed hit on Minnesota receiver K.J. Osborne to prevent a touchdown grab, but a flag for unnecessary roughness immediately flew from behind the endzone, giving the Vikings a fresh set of downs.
“Very poor officiating,” Fitzpatrick wrote on the social media platform. “Calls like this can change the outcomes of games. Football is a violent sport. People will get hit hard legally. Receivers running across the middle know what they signed up for. It’s a part of the game.”
Sure enough, Fitzpatrick’s penalty would have a massive impact on Sunday’s game, as an incompletion would have set up a 3rd and 10 try for the Indianapolis offense leading 17-10. Instead, the Colts were handed a first down in Steelers territory, which backup quarterback Joe Flacco turned into six points just six plays later to give Indianapolis a two-touchdown advantage seconds into the fourth quarter.
The Steelers would mount a valiant comeback but fall just short, as Justin Fields failed to convert a 4th and 11 to seal a 27-24 defeat. Pittsburgh will look to shake off its first loss of the season next week against Dallas, with kickoff from Acrisure Stadium set for 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC.
Steelers’ rally falls short
Someone tell Steelers coaching staff that running game not working
Fields illicited the only chuckle of an otherwise morose interview.
“It’s not a pre-game routine,” the QB said after the Steelers’ 27-24 loss to the Colts. “It’s not doing something special or drinking a different colored Gatorade. It’s none of that. It’s just coming out focused and ready to go. We didn’t do that at the start. We got going as time went along, but it’s not mystical. It’s performance and we didn’t come out with the right intent. Gotta be better.”
Fields made his share of mistakes. So did George Pickens. So did a young offensive line. So did the defense.
The coaching is always up for questioning after a loss, and some of the miscues were pointed out. But Mike Tomlin was not asked this huge question that so far this season has been his greatest coaching mistake:
Why is he giving the ball to Najee Harris so often?
The running back this season has 78 touches. Pickens, Cordarrelle Patterson, Jaylen Warren, and Pat Freiermuth have combined for 78 touches. Harris is averaging 4.0 per touch; those four are averaging 8.2.
Of course, Harris is a back and two of those mentioned are receivers. But on the ground, Harris is averaging 3.35 per carry; the rest of the backs combined are averaging 4.87. On Sunday, Harris carried 13 times for 19 yards.
For an offense that continues to tell the world – and, worst of all, itself – that it’s imposing its will, pounding the rock without pounding the rock is an exercise in futility.
That futility combined with a lackadaisical defense to put the Steelers in a 17-0 hole after three Colts possessions Sunday. Joey Porter Jr., in particular was sieve-like, even as 39-year-old Joe Flacco replaced an injured Anthony Richardson at quarterback to finish the second possession.
The Steelers began their fourth possession with Patterson at running back and he gained 60 yards on 6 touches before Pickens lost a fumble inside the Indianapolis 5.
Patterson was injured on his final carry, but the Steelers were able to eventually kick a 50-yard field goal to cut the halftime deficit to 17-3.
Two barren possessions opened the second half, punctuated by a 20-yard sack/fumble by Fields. The Colts recovered but the defense held, thanks to a Beanie Bishop/Cam Heyward sack on first down.
A 38-yard pass to Pickens set up the Steelers’ first touchdown, a 5-yard run by Fields which cut the Colts’ lead to 17-10.
The Colts answered with their only touchdown of the second half, with the help of a poor roughness call against Minkah Fitzpatrick, followed by a 25-yard completion to Josh Downs on third-and-7. On third-and-10, Flacco hit tight end Drew Ogletree for the 15-yard touchdown and a 24-10 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Fields battled back. He threw a screen to Harris for 32 yards – Harris’s longest play since 2022 – and the Colts roughed Fields to tack on 15 and set the Steelers up at the Indianapolis 12. Five plays later, Fields ran for a touchdown from the 2 to cut the deficit to 24-17 with 11:23 remaining.
A 35-yard Colts field goal with 6:03 left pushed the lead back to 27-17, and Fields answered quickly with an 8-yard TD pass to Freiermuth. The key play of the drive was a 37-yard bomb by Fields to Pickens on third-and-2.
The touchdown brought the Steelers to within 27-24 with 3:40 remaining, and a sack by Nick Herbig set up a Colts punt, and the Steelers had the ball at their own 17 with 2:39 remaining.
Fields ran for 12, passed to Van Jefferson for 9, and Harris ran for 4 to give the Steelers a first down at their 42 with 1:43 left and the clock turning. And then an abrupt snap bounced off the unprepared Fields, who took a 12-yard loss.
Saving their last timeout, Fields threw incomplete, and then threw 11 yards to Harris along the sideline. But Harris didn’t step out of bounds, so Fields set up for fourth-and-11 at the Pittsburgh 41 as the clock ticked down from 37 seconds. Fields threw incomplete on fourth down to end the Steelers’ final chance.
Three questions:
* What happened on the surprise snap by Zach Frazier?
“It was my fault,” said Fields. “We were going on the first leg kick and Zach was IDing stuff. I felt the DBs rotating and changing the back end picture, and he was IDing stuff and telling the O-line where to go. I was just trying to get that final picture before the snap came. At the end of the day, it’s on the first leg kick, so after I kick my leg I gotta be ready for the ball no matter when it’s going to come or not.”
* Why didn’t Tomlin call timeout on fourth-and-11?
“I wanted to hold it in my hip pocket,” said Tomlin. “Sometimes working at a pace is an advantage for an offense. It doesn’t give the defense an opportunity to get specialized people in the game, to ponder calls and get in perfect calls. I was comfortable working at pace and I wanted to keep it in our hip pocket in case we converted and got down the field.”
* And why the poor offensive start before the successful second half?
“We just mixed it up a little bit on first and second down,” said Fields. “Their defense was doing a good job against the run on first down, so we started mixing in a little bit more pass, play-action pass.”
The Steelers realized they weren’t actually imposing their will as an offense. Until that’s possible, either by the maturation of a young offensive line or a change at running back, a new offensive approach is necessary.
NFL Rebels Week 3 | DK Metcalf’s hot start has Seattle Seahawks 3-0
DK Metcalf turned in a 100-yard performance for the second week in a row. Here’s what all the former Ole Miss Rebels did in Week 3 of the NFL season.
As far as success at the NFL level, 315 Rebels have been taken in the draft since 1936, with 31 of them being selected to participate in at least one Pro Bowl. Ole Miss boasts 23 first round draft picks and 18 players with a Super Bowl ring, with quarterback great Eli Manning having two rings in addition to his two Super Bowl MVP honors. The Rebels also have three former players enshrined in Canton, those being Bruiser Kinard (1970), Gene Hickerson (2007) and most recently Patrick Willis (2024).
Every week, Inside the Rebels will keep you up to date on what former Ole Miss Rebels are doing in the league currently and where they are at as the season progresses.
Former Ole Miss wide receiver and Oxford, Miss. native DK Metcalf, once again, had himself an outstanding outing in Week 3. Here’s what all the other former Rebels did over the weekend:
