Ex-Patriot Explains Why Steelers Star’s Nick Chubb Hit Wasn’t Dirty

The Steelers defense made it clear on “Monday Night Football” the kind of impact they can have on the game, but NFL fans felt one Pittsburgh star might have gone too far in his physicality.

Minkah Fitzpatrick quickly built a reputation as one of the hardest-hitting safeties in the league. That’s unlikely to dissipate after the All-Pro defender went low at Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb while his teammate Cole Holcomb hit him high. The collision caused Chubb to turn and bend his leg.

Fitzpatrick later got injured while chasing backup Jerome Ford and was ruled out with a chest injury. Head coach Kevin Stefanski said after his team’s 26-22 loss at Acrisure Stadium that Chubb likely is out for the season.

NFL fans rallied in support of Chubb, but there were accusations Fitzpatrick intentionally went after Chubb’s left leg.

But a former New England Patriots Super Bowl champion pushed back on that narrative.

“I don’t think it was intentionally dirty,” Jason McCourty said on NFL Media’s “Good Morning Football” on Tuesday. “When you look at the replay, you see him going low while somebody’s tackling him up high. You’re like, ‘Well, why would he do that?’ … You have to remember, DBs, they are the smallest guys out there on the field a lot of times. So the way you get a big back down is you have to go low.

“If you’re Minkah Fitzpatrick, you can’t tackle Nick Chubb up high because he’s going to run right through you. … In that split second, he’s like, all right, he’s coming through this hole, I have to go and I have to hit him low. If he had to redo it again knowing someone had him up high, maybe he doesn’t. But it’s easy for us to watch that in slow motion and say, ‘Oh, he should have went up top.’ He had already made that decision going full speed to make a collision. You hate to see it, but I don’t think there is anything intentional or dirty on that play where he’s trying to injure Nick Chubb.”

Chubb’s injury marked the second-straight “Monday Night Football” matchup where a star suffered a season-ending injury when Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles just four snaps into his Jets career. Similar to New York, Cleveland will rely on a next-man-up mentality with players like Jerome Ford and former Patriots running back Pierre Strong Jr. in its star’s absence.