Steelers' Patrick Peterson Goes On A Rant Following Big Week 3 Victory "I Had To Be A Part Of This"

The Pittsburgh Steelers made a bold and much needed move by signing 12-year NFL veteran Patrick Peterson during the 2023 offseason. The team was weak at the cornerback position and an experienced veteran like Peterson seemed like it would be a good addition. Fast forward about six months, and the Steelers have won two of their first three games of the season and Peterson recorded his 35th career interception on Sunday Night Football in Week 3. 

Steelers' Peterson Explains Why He Had To Sign With Pittsburgh

Peterson had an up and down performance in the Steelers 23-18 win in Week 3 over the Raiders. He was in coverage when he allowed the Raiders to score their first touchdown of the game which came on a 32-yard pass on a fourth-and-one. However, he made up for it by picking off Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in the third quarter of the game, which led to a Steelers three-minute touchdown drive. Due to his interception, he was invited on the NFL On NBC postgame show, where he went on a tangent about why he signed with the Steelers and why  Pittsburgh is where he always wanted to be. 

"The storied franchise. Always having great defensive players. Mike Tomlin. I mean, I would not rather be anywhere else, this is where I wanted to be. Just because of the fans, they travel so well and just how well the defense has played year in and year out. I had to be a part of this."

Peterson is a very well-respected veteran in the NFL and is widely considered one of the best cornerbacks of the last decade. He's certainly a future Hall of Fame inductee, however before this game, he had gotten off to a rough start to the year. He made headlines for calling his shot against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1, saying he would get an interception off of quarterback Brock Purdy. Obviously, the Steelers lost the game 30-7, and Purdy had a great performance and called Peterson out afterwards. Now, it is good to see Peterson being celebrated by the Steelers fan base. 

Peterson's interception on Sunday Night Football did not necessarily happen because he had great lock down coverage, but rather because of the impressive pass rush from the Steelers finding a way to get home and disrupt the passer, forcing the quarterback to lob up a horrible pass. By the time Garoppolo threw the ball, TJ Watt was essentially in his lap with his hands up in the air, which forced Garoppolo to lob the ball horribly. From there, it was a pretty easy play for Peterson to make to come down with the ball and get the turnover. Peterson spoke about how easy it is to do his job with an elite pass rush. 

"This is the best pass-rushing group that I've been around. When you have two guys that can consistently beat guys and you have guys coming in to back them up that can do the same thing, we can be very special."

Peterson is in his 13th season in the league, and is just now playing with the best pass-rush of his career. Watt and his partner in crime Alex Highsmith are two of the best edge-rushers in the NFL, and often times make offenses make the difficult choice of whether or not they want to double team one of them. This pass rush forces quarterbacks to make quick decisions under pressure, which can often lead to mistakes and turnovers, which is what we saw on Sunday night. 

Sunday night was Peterson's first interception in a Steelers uniform, and brings his career total to 35 (most among active players in the NFL). It should be expected that with the pass rush this defense brings to the table, he'll find a way to get a few more interceptions while wearing the black and gold. 

What did you think of Peterson's comments, Steeler Nation? How do you think he has played so far this season? Let us know in the comments below!

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