Minkah Fitzpatrick is the first safety since Troy Polamalu in 2010 to be chosen by his teammates as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Most Valuable Player.

The former Alabama All-American received the award on Friday and appreciated following in the footsteps of a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

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“Troy was a play-maker,” Fitzpatrick said. “He was an extremely instinctive safety and moved around, could do whatever they asked him to do. I kind of see myself in a similar light. He’s a guy that had a nose for the football. I try and find the football. He was a guy that was always in position, never out of position, so sometimes the ball will find him. People call it luck who don’t know football. But it’s just being in the right position, looking at the right things. I try to do that as well.

“If you’re a great football player, the best way to learn is from other great football players, so Troy’s definitely a guy, whether I played here or for another team, I definitely would model my game after.”

While Fitzpatrick had plenty to say about Polamalu, he was reluctant to talk about himself as the team MVP.

“It’s an honor,” Fitzpatrick said. “I appreciate it. I think I put a lot of hard work, energy and effort in. Played through a lot this year. It’s a honor, and I’m appreciative that the guys see what – I don’t like saying ‘I’ – but what I provided to the team, what I gave of myself to the team, so it’s an honor. I’m thankful for it, for sure.”

With six interceptions, Fitzpatrick is tied for the NFL lead with Philadelphia Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Seattle Seahawks cornerback Tariq Woolen and Denver Broncos safety Justin Simmons.

With 89 tackles, Fitzpatrick is the only one of those players with more than 60 in 2022.

“Just being in the right position, a couple of them will come to you,” Fitzpatrick said of interceptions. “I have been in coverage a lot this year, so when you’re in coverage, you’re going to get thrown at, and sometimes you get them, you take them away from the other guy. And then there’s a couple of plays where you’re playing in the deep half, I’m playing in the deep half or the post, where I just seek the ball out, so I think there’s been a lot of opportunity for me to go and get the ball, and I’ve just been taking advantage of them.”

The Steelers enter Saturday’s regular-season finale against the Cleveland Browns with an 8-8 record. By winning their past three games, Pittsburgh still has a chance to make the AFC playoff field after starting the season by losing six of its first eight games.

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“This hasn’t been the season that we thought it would, but the great part about it is it doesn’t really matter what happened in the past,” Fitzpatrick said. “Coach (Mike) T(omlin) always says the past is history like World War II. You learn from it but move forward from it. We can change the whole season by how we play this weekend and how we dominate this weekend.”

To reach the postseason, Pittsburgh needs more to happen on Sunday than a victory over Cleveland. For the Steelers’ season to continue, New England and Miami also must lose – the Patriots to the Buffalo Bills and the Dolphins to the New York Jets.

Pittsburgh lost to the Browns 29-17 on Sept. 22.

“We got to play better football on the defensive side of the ball,” Fitzpatrick said. “We were playing sloppy, bad eyes, bad feet, looking at the wrong things, missing tackles. It wasn’t our normal standard of football, so I think we’ve got to go out there and keep trending in the right direction like we’ve been doing the last four or five weeks and play with great discipline, great eyes, great execution, physical football up front and in the back end. And I think we’ll be able to play at a high level.”

Cleveland quarterback Jacoby Brissett completed 21-of-31 passes for 220 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions against the Steelers in September. But he won’t be under center on Sunday. Deshaun Watson will be at quarterback for the sixth time since completing his 11-game NFL suspension.

Cleveland went 4-7 with Brissett as the starter. The Browns are 3-2 with Watson playing.

“He’s a great talent,” Fitzpatrick said of Watson. “He can scramble, extend plays with his legs and make throws on the field. He has a strong arm, good eyes down the field. He scrambles to throw, not to run and that could be a challenge for any secondary. Their overall schemes or schematics don’t change too much, but the talent in the quarterback position does.”

The Browns and Steelers kick off at noon CST Sunday at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.