Plays of the Year: Fitzpatrick interception seals Steelers victory

Steel City Underground presents “Plays of the Year” featuring the top runs, catches, hits and everything else in-between from the Pittsburgh Steelers 2022 season.

The Pittsburgh Steelers found themselves in a close game on the road against the Atlanta Falcons during Week 13 of the 2022 NFL regular season. The Falcons had been in one game after another, all season, that came to down to a single score and were intent on preventing it from happening again.

Atlanta’s efforts to make a literal last-ditch comeback in the fourth quarter were thwarted when safety Minkah Fitzpatrick read a play perfectly and grabbed the interception that sealed a victory for the Steelers – their second road win in back-to-back weeks.

Pittsburgh entered the halftime break with a 16-6 lead. The challenge was keeping Atlanta from adjusting enough to orchestrate drives that got into the end zone while maintaining momentum in their favor. The Falcons returned to the ground game, though, and fed Cordarrelle Patterson heavily in the drive to grab a touchdown from a Marcus Mariota-to-MyCole Pruitt hookup.

On their next offensive series, the Falcons were able to get close enough to kick a field goal; the score was just 19-16 in the Steelers’ favor. When the Steelers offense couldn’t convert to put the game away, they punted the ball deep and put things on the defense’s shoulders.

On 1st & 10 at the Atlanta two-yard line, with just 39 seconds remaining in the game, Mariota attempted a pass to Drake London. Fitzpatrick read the play perfectly, jumping the route and taking off with the interception.

Fitzpatrick didn’t risk forcing his way into the end zone – which may have been an opportunity for the Falcons to knock the ball loose – he simply ran the ball out of bounds at the four-yard line. It was a veteran move.

Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett was able to line up one final time with the offense and kneel the ball as a result, a three-point win in the books.


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