In his impressive 17-season tenure as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Mike Tomlin has consistently led the team to seasons above 500, a remarkable feat under his guidance. Nevertheless, Week 14 dealt a significant blow to their pride and legacy as they suffered an unexpected loss to the struggling New England Patriots.
Despite being under the leadership of one of the NFL’s best head coaches, the Steelers’ struggles in this game proved to be a nightmare for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. In the aftermath, Fitzpatrick took the unusual step of openly labeling some of his teammates failures.
Minkah Fitzpatrick blasts Steelers teammates
The Acrisure Stadium witnessed a devastating 21-18 loss for the Steelers against the struggling Patriots on Thursday night. Starting quarterback Mitch Trubisky shouldered the blame, expressing remorse and stating, “I’ve got to play better. I feel like I let the guys down.” Trubisky took on the starting role after the loss of George Pickens, as per Fox News.
However, safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, who recently engaged in a brawl with his teammate Diontae Johnson, was not content with singling out the starting quarterback and attributed the entire team to their disastrous performance in Week 14. Fitzpatrick suggested that some teammates lacked the dedication required for a successful game.
“In order to see fruit, you gotta toil for it. I think too many people don’t want to toil for it.”
According to Fitzpatrick, the team underestimated the Patriots, assuming victory before the game, leading to a below-average performance and a painful loss.
“They just want to walk out here and think that they gonna make plays and think that they gonna perform at a high level,” he continued.
For the three-time All-Pro, losing the team’s pride is particularly disheartening. On the flip side, the Patriots ended their five-game losing streak, providing solace for Bill Belichick, who is seemingly on the verge of ending his career with the Patriots. The move came after they benched Mac Jones and started the night with Bailey Zappe, though prior to that, the Patriots dismissed the notion of benching Jones.
Steelers performance so far this season
The season’s commencement proved to be a nightmare for the Steelers, opening with a disheartening 7-30 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Despite addressing their shortcomings and staging a comeback in subsequent games, securing victories became a challenge for Tomlin’s team.
Although their wins may not have been resounding, the team managed to add them to maintain their legacy.
However, the Steelers’ rhythm appears to have waned, especially since their Week 11 defeat to the Cleveland Browns, the team against whom they secured their first win in Week 2.
Following a victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 12, the Steelers faced consecutive setbacks against the 3-10 Patriots and 3-10 Cardinals. The recent loss to the Patriots has positioned the team at 7-6, marking a historic moment as the first NFL team to be over 500 and lose two consecutive games to teams with at least an eight-game deficit.
Looking ahead, Minkah Fitzpatrick’s team is set for a Week 15 clash against the Indianapolis Colts. The question looms: can they break their losing streak in the upcoming contest?
