The Pittsburgh Steelers secured their first win of the 2023 season in Week 2 on Monday Night Football against their divisional rival, the Cleveland Browns. The game was very entertaining for football fans everywhere, and extremely stress-inducing for fans of either team. The game featured many lead changes, two defensive touchdowns, and six turnovers. However, many will remember the game because of the horribly gruesome injury that Browns running back Nick Chubb suffered.
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Cleveland Browns running back, Nick Chubb.
Steelers' Fitzpatrick Comments On His Hit On Chubb
During the Steelers' Week 2 game against the Browns, Chubb went down with a clear knee injury that was too gruesome to even show the replay. The replay was shown in the stadium and the moans and groans from the crowd were clearly heard by everyone at home who hadn't seen clearly what happened yet. Chubb was running inside the 10-yard line, trying to score a touchdown. He had one defender on his back already, but with a powerful back like Chubb, it often takes more than one defender to bring him down. Fitzpatrick came in from the safety position to hit him low and get him to the ground when the injury occurred. He commented on it in a media scrum on Thursday.
"It's a tough, tough injury, unfortunately it's a part of the game we play. I know people think I had ill will behind the tackle. That's not the case whatsoever. I'm a guy that's a competitor that's going to go out there and play the game. I'm chippy, I'm edgy of course, but I'm not a dirty player. I know the type of player I am, Chubb knows the type of player I am."
Chubb and Fitzpatrick have been playing against one another for awhile now. They both came into the league at the same time in 2018, and both played in the SEC in college from 2015 through 2017. They now have been apart of the same division in the NFL since 2019, meaning they play one another at least twice every season. The two are obviously familiar with each other, and Chubb would know if Fitzpatrick is a dirty player or not.
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Pittsburgh Steelers safety, Minkah Fitzpatrick (#39) participates during 2022 training camp at the team's South Side facility.
Fitzpatrick is not folding when it comes to defending himself. He clearly stands on the fact that the hit was clean, and there was nothing he could have done since football is such a fast game. He spoke about the fast pace of the game and how that contributed to his decision making in response to members in media saying his hit was dirty or intentional.
"They've never tackled Nick Chubb before if they're telling me to go high. What I seen was it opened up, it's goal line. I made the decision as soon as I seen the hole open up and him in the hole to go low. You can tell me how to tackle him, but it's a fast game where you make decisions in milliseconds. Can't really control what happens after you make your decision. Somebody got on his back when I already decided to go low, and what happened happened. Nick Chubb's a great player. Just hope for a speedy recovery."
In the days since the injury to Chubb happened, many members of media have been speaking their mind on the play and the situation as a whole. Some have spoken out defending Fitzpatrick, while others have blamed him and called him dirty for the hit. Surprisingly, those blaming him played offense in their career and those defending him played on the other side of the ball. Fitzpatrick is clearly heartbroken for Chubb and is wishing him the best, but he is standing his ground in that he was just making a football play.
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Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (#39).
Fitzpatrick's Health And Status For Week 3
Fitzpatrick got beat up a lot in the game in Week 2. During the same play that he had the controversial hit on Chubb, he was also injured on the play. He was able to walk off the field on his own, and eventually returned to the game. It seemed he may have just suffered a stinger or gotten the wind knocked out of him. However, later in the game, he tackled Browns backup running back, Jerome Ford, making a touchdown saving tackle. However, he landed hard on his chest and exited the game again.
He was taken to a local hospital to take precautionary scans of his chest, and the scans came back and showed that his injury was nothing more than a chest contusion. He has been limited in practice in preparation for Week 3 against the Las Vegas Raiders, however he stated he will be playing in the game.
What do you think of Fitzpatrick's comments regarding his hit on Chubb? Let us know in the comments below!
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