Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick’s tackle of Nick Chubb on Monday night came under scrutiny when the Cleveland Browns running back did not walk away from it.

Fitzpatrick’s hit on Chubb on a first-and-goal snap at the Pittsburgh 8-yard line left the running back with a season-ending injury and the safety branded a dirty player in some circles for the low tackle when Chubb already was engaged with a defender.

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On Thursday, Fitzpatrick said he wasn’t a dirty player and he thinks Chubb knows that.

“It’s very unfortunate,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s a tough, tough injury. Unfortunately, it’s a part of the game that we play. I know people think I had ill will behind the tackle. It’s not the case whatsoever. I’m a guy that’s a competitor that’s going to go out there and play the game. I’m chippy. I’m edgy, of course. But I’m not a dirty player. I’m not going to sit here and defend my character. I know the type of player I am. Chubb knows the type of player I am. I’ve played against him in the past – five years, two times a year. I love competing against him. He brings the best out of me, and I bring the best out of him.

“No chance that I would ever try to purposefully injure somebody. It was an unfortunate event. We play a physical game, and people get hurt. And you know, people sit behind a screen and tell me how I should’ve done it or what they would have done, and they’ve never played the game. It’s a fast game, and things happen. Like I said, it’s an unfortunate event. Praying for Chubb. I talked to him briefly as he was on the ground. Just let him know it wasn’t intentional. I was just trying to tackle him, make a football play.”

Fitzpatrick said those saying he shouldn’t have hit the running back low have never tried to tackle Chubb, a Pro Bowl selection in each of the previous four seasons.

“I would say, one, they’ve never tackled Nick Chubb before if they’re telling me to go high,” Fitzpatrick said. “Two, what I seen was it opened up, it’s goal line. I didn’t see anybody on him. I made the decision as soon as I seen the hole open up and him in the hole to go low. You can tell me not to tackle him low, but it’s a fast game. It’s a game you make decisions in milliseconds. Can’t really control what happens after you choose to make your decision. I already chose to go low. Somebody got on his back when I was going low, and what happened happened.

“There’s nothing I really would do differently. Again, like I said earlier, it’s very unfortunate. Nick Chubb’s a great player. He makes the game a lot better when he’s playing. Just hope for a speedy recovery.”

Fitzpatrick also left Pittsburgh’s 26-22 victory over Cleveland with an injury that sent him to the hospital for further evaluation.

During the third quarter, Fitzpatrick kept Jerome Ford from reaching the end zone by stopping the former Alabama running back at the Pittsburgh 1-yard line at the end of a 69-yard run. Fitzpatrick landed so hard on his chest after diving to catch Ford that he experienced difficulty breathing after the play.

Reports indicate Fitzpatrick had sustained a chest contusion, and Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said he felt good about the safety’s status for Sunday night’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders.

A two-time consensus All-American at Alabama, Fitzpatrick has been a Pro Bowl selection and first-team All-Pro in 2019, 2020 and 2022 for the Steelers.

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