The Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense showcased its game-changing potential on “Monday Night Football,” but NFL fans raised concerns about the physicality displayed by one Pittsburgh star.
Minkah Fitzpatrick, widely recognized as one of the hardest-hitting safeties in the league, further solidified this reputation when he went low at Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb during the game. Fitzpatrick’s teammate, Cole Holcomb, simultaneously hit Chubb high, resulting in a collision that caused Chubb’s leg to twist and bend in an unnatural manner.
While Fitzpatrick also suffered an injury on the play and was ruled out due to a chest injury, Chubb endured the more significant consequences. Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski indicated after their 26-22 loss at Acrisure Stadium that Chubb is likely out for the season.
NFL fans rallied in support of Chubb, with some accusing Fitzpatrick of intentionally targeting Chubb’s left leg. Former NFL player Nate Burleson seemed to lay the blame squarely on Fitzpatrick.
RC, you know I love you like a brother so I mean this with all due respect… You are wrong on this one fam. The reason there is outrage about that hit on Chubb isn’t about the game or it’s fans getting soft. The problem is Minkah who is a veteran DB torpedoed at Chubbs leg while he was already being taken down by a defender. If your response is: “He didn’t know Chubb was already being tackled. ” • Well, pick your head up! “He didn’t want to go high.” •Well, aim for the multiple areas above the knee & below the head like hip, ribs or shoulder. “Chubb is a power back so it takes multiple guys to bring him down.” • Fine, but let’s apply the same chop block rules like we do in the trenches. For me it’s 1 of 2 things… Malicious or a weak attempt at tackling someone. I don’t know Minkah well enough to call him dirty so I won’t. I’ll leave all defensive players with this… Would you hit your own teammate like that in a live scrimmage? That’s a rhetorical question because the answer should be NO, so keep that in mind the next time you think about aiming at someone’s knees on during a game. With love, ~ Nate B
However, a former New England Patriots Super Bowl champion, Jason McCourty, offered a different perspective.
“I don’t think it was intentionally dirty,” McCourty stated during an appearance on NFL Media’s “Good Morning Football” on Tuesday. “When you look at the replay, you see him going low while somebody’s tackling him up high. You’re like, ‘Well, why would he do that?’ … You have to remember, DBs, they are the smallest guys out there on the field a lot of times. So the way you get a big back down is you have to go low.
“If you’re Minkah Fitzpatrick, you can’t tackle Nick Chubb up high because he’s going to run right through you. … In that split second, he’s like, all right, he’s coming through this hole, I have to go and I have to hit him low. If he had to redo it again knowing someone had him up high, maybe he doesn’t. But it’s easy for us to watch that in slow motion and say, ‘Oh, he should have gone up top.’ He had already made that decision going full speed to make a collision. You hate to see it, but I don’t think there is anything intentional or dirty on that play where he’s trying to injure Nick Chubb.”
Football is an inherently physical and violent sport, making the regulation of such violence a challenging endeavor.
