INDIA — The Pittsburgh Steelers defense’s situation worsened in the course of two plays in the second quarter of their 30-13 loss on Saturday afternoon.
Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick suffered a knee injury after a collision with teammate Patrick Peterson, just one play after starting safety Damontae Kazee was sent off for a vicious hit that left Indianapolis Colts receiver Michael Pittman Jr. unconscious. Fitzpatrick never showed back.
“It’s very deflating because so much of the line of communication runs through those guys, and now you’re putting guys in different positions and trying to makeshift or what we have available to us,” Peterson stated. And that does occur occasionally. Two players in the same position going down is never something you expect. All we need to do is figure out how to support one another and attempt to win this game.”After a quick assessment, Fitzpatrick was able to leave the field on his own and checked his left ankle and knee on the sidelines. In the end, he returned to the locker room ahead of the break, and the third quarter saw him ruled out.
“They just continued to smash the run, and we weren’t able to stop it, and they were able to continue to dictate what they wanted to do,” Watt stated. “And when you’re not able to stop something, they’re going to continue to do it.”
