Steelers star sends clear message to referees

On Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ undefeated season came to an end after a close loss to the Indianapolis Colts. And after the game, Steelers star safety Minkah Fitzpatrick voiced his complaints about one call in particular that went a long way in determining the end result.

In the third quarter, Fitzpatrick was called for an unnecessary roughness call that set up the Colts with great field position. The call was certainly a questionable one, as Fitzpatrick appeared to avoid any contact with the head of Colts wide receiver Adonai Mitchell.

This was called unnecessary roughness on minkah fitzpatrick going full speed lmaoo nfl is so soft pic.twitter.com/oLVGSx662D

— John (@iam_johnw) September 29, 2024

The Colts would go on to score on this drive to make it a 24-10 game, ultimately sneaking away with a 27-24 victory to advance to 2-2 on the year.

We truly don’t know how things may have changed if this call wasn’t made. But regardless, Fitzpatrick aired his grievances against the officials shortly after the game.

“I mean, I thought we were playing football,” said Fitzpatrick. “I don’t know what we’re playing at this point. Very different game than what I grew up playing and what I grew up loving. Can’t hit nobody hard. Can’t be violent. So I don’t know, I don’t know what to say anymore.”

Minkah Fitzpatrick on his personal foul penalty

“I thought we were playing football …. This is not the game I grew up playing… you can’t hit anybody.” pic.twitter.com/wgaxCUoQeX

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) September 29, 2024

Looking at the play, it’s hard to argue with Fitzpatrick’s opinion here. He very clearly did everything that is typically asked of defenders to properly stop Mitchell from making the catch.

He was pretty clearly unjustly penalized. And moving forward, defenders will likely only continue to get frustrated at the officiating around the NFL.

[Chris Adamski on X]