Cameron Heyward and Minkah Fitzpatrick got into each other near the end of the first half after the two defensive stalwarts of the Pittsburgh Steelers exchanged words. It came at the end of the turning point of the first half late Sunday night.
The Steelers and Ravens played out a fierce game, with each team digging in as they tried to burnish their playoff credentials. For the Steelers, it meant staying alive in the race. For the Ravens, it meant staying alive for next week to win the first seed in the AFC North.
As the clock winded down towards the end of the first half, the teams were tied 3-3 with no one having scored a touchdown. On third down, after having stopped Baltimore's forward progress, Cameron Heyward was penalized for unnecessary roughness.
It was a mistake from the veteran campaigner. Instead of bringing the field goal unit on the field, it allowed the Baltimore Ravens to aim for a touchdown, which they then duly got. Minkah Fitzpatrick was peeved with the defensive tackle and let Heyward know, which caused him to snap that it was unintentional.
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What caused Minkah Fitzpatrick to lash out at Cameron Heyward?
As mentioned earlier, Cameron Heyward gave away a game-changing penalty as the first half neared its end. With just 11 seconds remaining in the first half, the defensive tackle stopped J.K. Dobbins short of the line on third down. However, he then pulled down a Baltimore offensive guard and as he fell forward, made contact with the referee.
Cam Heyward was none too happy about it and seemed to mouth that it was a bulls**t penalty as he left the field. He was already steaming when Minkah Fitzpatrick made his ill-advised move to ask him to calm down.
Instead of a field goal, Tyler Huntley got a chance to throw to Isaiah Likely for a touchdown because of this penalty. It allowed the Ravens to go ahead 10-3 going into halftime, putting all the pressure on the Steelers.
Head coach Mike Tomlin was asked about the incident after the teams emerged from the tunnel after the break. He said that he preferred his players to not remove their emotions from the game, but rather to channel them the right way. Both Cameron Heyward and Minkah Fitzpatrick would do well to hear the wise words of their head coach.
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