Steelers' Minkah Fitzpatrick Absolutely Calls Out Locker Room After Disastrous Week 14 Loss

The Pittsburgh Steelers have once again lost to a 2-10 team, this time the New England Patriots. After getting down early, the Steelers, led by backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky, were unable to capitalize upon the opportunities given to them by the defense and lost the game 21-18. Now, star safety Minkah Fitzpatrick is questioning if all of his teammates are as hungry as he is for success. 

Fitzpatrick, who broke his hand during the Week 13 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, has shown nothing but grit and determination. He put a brace on his hand and returned to the field to try to help his team come back and beat Arizona. Unfortunately, he watched almost every member of the Black and Gold make mistakes during that game. 

Frustratingly enough, it was a similar situation against the Patriots. Fitzpatrick was there with a broken hand, trying to make something happen, and was left feeling like he was in the minority. After the game, Fitzpatrick spoke with ESPN's Brooke Pryor and told her that he thinks the team feels entitled and is displaying a lack of effort. 

"In order to see the fruit, you've gotta toil for it," said Fitzpatrick. "I think too many people don't want to toil for it. They just want to walk out here and think that they're going to make plays and think that they're going to perform at a high level. I think we need to have more people who want to work for it, not expect it to be handed to them."

The Steelers have a long and storied history of success and Fitzpatrick's comments mirror those of Head Coach Mike Tomlin about wanting "volunteers, not hostages." Fitzpatrick went on to say that they are all at the top of thier game, everyone had to work hard to get to the NFL. But they can't take being in the Steel City for granted. 

"I think we need to check that mentality and make people realize that they got to earn that mentality, and they got to earn every single blade of grass, every single splash play, and every single rep that they get out there. They got to earn it."

Pittsburgh was still in the playoff hunt after the loss to the Cardinals. They were solidly tied for second place in the AFC North behind the Baltimore Ravens. Now, their playoff chances have dropped to only 36% per ESPN Analytics. 

Pryor asked Fitzpatrick if he felt that the mentality of the team could be changed and he said he "wasn't sure." He did tell her that he believes if they are willing to do some "soul searching" and put in the hard work, it is possible. 

"The only thing that people could do is evaluate their work week. Look in the mirror, evaluate their work week, evaluate their character, evaluate their love for the game, evaluate why they play the game, and if you're doing it for the wrong reasons or if you're doing it just because you like it and you don't love it and you don't love the ugly part of it, then you need to evaluate what you're doing."

The message coming from Tomlin and the majority of Fitzpatrick's teammates is that they just have to "get back to work." For thier Week 15 game, the Steelers will be traveling to play the Indianapolis Colts. It is a must-win game for both teams who are both battling for a playoff spot. 

Do The Steelers Need To Consider Benching Some Players?

Steelers veteran and defensive captain, Cameron Heyward told the media after the loss that Tomlin might need to consider benching underperforming players. There are several candidates that the team could consider benching including center Mason Cole who has struggled with low snaps and was a contributor in both losses. 

It is impossible to point the finger at any one player. The Steelers have also been bitten by the injury bug with starting quarterback Kenny Pickett out. While Pickett performed better than Trubisky in the first half of the Cardinals game, he was far from perfect. The Steelers have also been plagued by mistakes, silly penalties, and mental errors. 

What do you think about Fitzpatrick's comments? What do you think the Steelers will do against Indianapolis? Click to comment below!

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