Minkah Fitzpatrick blasts Steelers teammates after loss to Patriots

Dec 19, 2021; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (39) walks around the field during warmups before playing the Tennessee Titans at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Philip G. Pavely-USA TODAY Sports

Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick was not happy with the effort he saw from some of his teammates in Thursday night’s loss to the New England Patriots.

The Steelers’ comeback effort fell short after they made Bailey Zappe look like Tom Brady in the first half of a surprising 21-18 win for the Patriots, which was only their third of the season. It was also the second consecutive home loss for Pittsburgh to a team that previously had just two victories on the year.

Fitzpatrick felt the effort from some of his teammates was unacceptable.

Minkah Fitzpatrick is fed up. (Via GMFB) #Steelers #NFL pic.twitter.com/i0G0Ou2307

— Blitzburgh (@Blitz_Burgh) December 8, 2023

“In order to see fruit, you gotta toil for it. I think too many people don’t want to toil for it,” Fitzpatrick said. “They just want to walk out here and think that they gonna make plays and think that they gonna perform at a high level. I think we need to have more people who want to work for it and not expect it to be handed to them, because this is the NFL and nothing’s handed to you. You gotta earn everything.

“I think that dudes just think that because they’re wearing the black and gold that they’re gonna win games. I think we need to check that mentality and make people realize that they gotta earn that mentality and they gotta earn every single blade of grass and every single splash play and every single rep that they get out there. They gotta earn it.”

The Steelers fell to 7-5 with the loss. They dropped from the No. 5 spot in the AFC to No. 8. While expectations were not all that high coming into the year, you can understand why Fitzpatrick is frustrated with back-to-back home losses to the Arizona Cardinals and Patriots.

While Fitzpatrick did not mention any of his teammates by name, we know one Steelers player who appeared to quit at times on Thursday night.