Pittsburgh Steelers star safety Minkah Fitzpatrick pushed back on allegations he was a “dirty player” after his tackle on Nick Chubb ended the Cleveland Browns‘ running backs season.
Chubb took a handhalf deep in Pittsburgh territory when Steelers linebacker Cole Holcomb started to tackle Chubb, and Fitzpatrick dove low to complete the tackle on the star running back. The play resulted in a gruesome knee injury that ended Chubb’s season.
The play by Fitzpatrick was perfectly legal. But many fans and pundits are asking whether it should be. And some think, regardless, it was a dirty play by the All-Pro defender.
Brooke Pryor with ESPN released a video of Fitzpatrick commenting on the play. Fitzpatrick defended his decision to go low to complete the tackle on Chubb. He said tackling Chubb high is hard to do.
Many of the criticisms levied at Fitzpatrick for the way he made the tackle are coming from people who never played the game and have no idea how fast the game is, Fitzpatrick said. Fitzpatrick said he’s not a dirty player.
Pittsburgh Steelers safety defends his hit on Nick Chubb
“I’m chippy. I’m edgy, of course, but I’m not a dirty player. I’m not going to sit here and defend my character. I know the type of player I am. Chubb knows the type of player I am,” Fitzpatrick said.
Minkah Fitzpatrick, who says he’s good to go for Sunday, talks about the Nick Chubb tackle and says he’s not a dirty player. pic.twitter.com/R7nW7RthaS
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) September 21, 2023
Fitzpatrick could have been injured by going high
Per Pryor, Fitzpatrick said he was in danger of receiving a brain injury if he had stayed high to tackle Chubb.
“If I tackle a guy like Chubb high, he’s running full speed downhill, and I’m stationary, I’m going to get ran over and I’m going to get concussed. I know it’s an offensive game and people want to see points, but defensive players are people too.”
Fitzpatrick on the low tackle: "If I tackle a guy like Chubb high, he's running full speed downhill, and I'm stationary, I'm going to get ran over and I'm going to get concussed. I know it's an offensive game and people want to see points, but defensive players are people too." https://t.co/DTiJUfhkCw
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) September 21, 2023
An unfortunate incident for the Cleveland Browns and Nick Chubb
Football is a rough sport. Unfortunately, serious injuries will happen. And Chubb’s injury is something football fans never want to see.
But it’s a part of the game. Fitzpatrick didn’t have the time to make a dirty play on Chubb. It’s impossible to be that precise in the NFL.
While I sympathize with the sentiment that the league should make the play illegal for players like Chubb, there is a valid point to be made that it would be making the game more unsafe for defenders.
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