The Steelers and Patrick Peterson had openly spoken about playing the future Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback at safety at times this season.
What they didn't foresee is Peterson being forced to play a full game at safety as he did in last week's 34-11 win over the Bengals.
And he might have found a new home in the NFL.
Peterson played 50 of his 64 snaps at deep safety against the Bengals in place of Minkah Fitzpatrick and found it to his liking. Prior to that game, Peterson had aligned at safety at times this season, playing 38 snaps there before playing 30 snaps there after Minkah Fitzpatrick was injured in the second quarter against the Colts two weeks ago.
But the game against the Bengals was the first time he's practiced all week at free safety and started the game there.
"It was a different view from back deep," the 13-year veteran said. "But it was fun. It wasn't as taxing on my body as it is being in front of a guy. We'll see where it takes me."
Where it takes him could be where it has taken other Hall of Fame cornerbacks who have come before him, Rod Woodson and Charles Woodson among them.
Like Peterson, both Woodsons (no relation) were lockdown cornerbacks for the first 10-plus years of their careers. But they moved to safety late in their careers and starred on the back end of their respective defenses.
Rod Woodson, a first-round draft pick of the Steelers in 1987, moved in 1999, his second season with the Ravens, recording 24 interceptions in his final five seasons to give him 71 in his career when he retired after the 2003 season.
Charles Woodson moved in 2012 and added 10 more interceptions to his career total of 65 in the four seasons he played safety. A first-round pick of the Raiders in 1998, Woodson played until 2015.
Peterson, 33, could easily play another handful of seasons at safety.
"I feel like I'm a safety at heart because I'm a big talker," Peterson said. "I'm a communicator, so being at corner, it's kind of hard to communicate with guys. Being at the safety position, being a key component of the communication to everyone, that felt very natural to me."
Peterson had two tackles and an interception against the Bengals last week, pushing his career total to 36. What he didn't have to do was one of the main jobs of a safety – be the last line of defense.
"I thought I fared pretty good. I didn't have to make any open-field tackles," Peterson said. "In my opinion, that's what safety will come down to for me. I feel like I have exceptional ball skills to where I can track the ball wherever it is. It's just going to come down to getting those open-field runners down when those opportunities present themselves."
He'll get another shot at that this week against the Seahawks – though with some good fortune and strong play in front of him, perhaps he won't be asked to do so again this week.
Either way, Peterson has enjoyed looking at the field from a different perspective. And it could very well be a future home.
"I did actually," Peterson said when asked if he felt comfortable. "We'll see where it goes from here. But I really did feel comfortable. It felt great. I made a few plays to help this defense ultimately be successful and win the game.
• If Mason Rudolph is looking for any inspiration when it comes to perseverance at the quarterback position in the NFL, he need only look across the field Sunday at Seattle's Geno Smith.
A second-round pick of the Jets in 2013, Smith became a starter in his rookie season, leading the Jets to an 8-8 record. But he also threw 12 touchdown passes against a league-worst 21 interceptions that season.
And when he struggled in his second season – the Jets went 3-10 in his 13 starters in which he threw 13 touchdown passes against 13 interceptions – he was eventually benched in favor of Michael Vick.
Smith spent two more injury-riddled seasons with the Jets before going to the Giants in 2017, the Chargers in 2018 and finally, the Seahawks in 2019. But he was a backup at each one of those spots until Russell Wilson was injured for Seattle in 2021.
Smith showed enough during a three-start stretch that the Seahawks moved on from Wilson in 2022 and allowed Smith to compete with Drew Lock for the starting job – one he's held since.
It took Smith 10 years, but he finally became a starting quarterback at 32 years old, making the Pro Bowl that season.
"I think it's an instant gratification league," Rudolph said of the NFL. "I've got a lot of respect for Geno Smith, who battled. What a career, what an inspiration to a lot of guys, and now he's battled through and stayed aggressive and stayed competent and positive, and he got a shot a couple of years ago, and look at what he's doing."
Rudolph has the tools. As Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said earlier this week when asked about what was the reason for Rudolph's success last week completing several deep passes, he has the arm talent to play in the NFL.
And, as Tomlin also noted, though he hasn't been inducted just yet, he has a College Football Hall of Fame resume. Rudolph's 13,618 career college passing yards still ranks 14th in NCAA Division I history.
But you've got to produce – quickly. And if it doesn't happen right away, you can quickly be forgotten.
The last time Rudolph started back-to-back games in the NFL came in 2019, when he was still just 24 years old. Now, he's 28, and he's been through some stuff. He's watched. He's learned. And he just might be a better quarterback because of it.
"Just getting football IQ. I think you improve your body, your throwing motion, little things like that," Rudolph said of what he believes is better now than it was in 2019. "But I think mostly football IQ and knowledge and just being in a helmet for more games and going through the week and understanding defenses."
Smith would likely say the same things regarding his early playing time compared to where he's at now in his career.
• The Walter Payton Man of the Year Award is an honor that has great significance in the NFL. And it's very meaningful and even more significant to players in many ways.
The award acknowledges players who excel both on the field and demonstrate a passion for creating a lasting positive impact beyond the game, as well.
The winner of the award each year receives a $250,000 donation to the charity of his choice. The winner of the fan challenge from among 32 nominees – one from each team – receives a $35,000 donation for their charity of choice.
That, in itself, is meaningful, for Steelers' nominee Cam Heyward, who is up for the award for the sixth time this year.
But realize that the vast majority of previous Walter Payton Man of the Year winners also happen to be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and it takes on even greater importance.
Yes, you have to be a good player to be nominated for the award by your team. But winning the award also is something that definitely gets mentioned when the Pro Football Hall of Fame selectors go over a players' resume.
And, if you're a player at a position that doesn't necessarily accumulate a bunch of statistics, that can be something that puts you over the top.
As a defensive lineman in a 3-4 defense, Heyward plays a position that doesn't necessarily lend itself to gaudy stats. But winning the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award would be a nice feather in his cap.
Voting for this year's award can be done at https://www.nfl.com/honors/man-of-the-year/vote. Or, it can be done on social media on X (formerly Twitter), by posting #WPMOYChallenge and @CamHeyward.
• Have the Steelers gotten over their West Coast blues?
Coming into this season, the Steelers were 19-38 in their history on the road against teams that play in the Pacific time zone.
This year, however, they are 2-0, having beaten the Rams in Los Angeles and Raiders in Las Vegas.
And, until their 34-11 win last week against the Bengals, those two wins were arguably their most complete victories of the season.
The Steelers controlled both of those games, leading the Raiders 23-7 entering the fourth quarter en route to a 23-18 Week 3 win, while beating the Rams, 24-17, scoring the go-ahead touchdown with just over 7 minutes remaining, then running out the final 5-plus minutes of the game with their offense.
They'll need another complete game Sunday to knock off the Seahawks.
• With two weeks remaining in the season, just four running backs have reached 1,000 rushing yards this season. There are just three others who have more than 900 yards.
If per game averages hold up, there are two other running backs – Tony Pollard of Dallas and Saquon Barkley of the Giants – who could reach 1,000 rushing yards.
But odds are there will be fewer than 10 rushers this season who will reach 1,000 yards on the ground.
Last season, there were 16 1,000-yard rushers. In 2021, the first season with a 17-game schedule, there were seven 1,000-yard rushers, including Najee Harris, who had just over 1,200 yards.
Last season rushing yards across the league were up. In 2022, six teams averaged more than 140 yards rushing per game, while 10 teams averaged 130 or more yards per game on the ground. This season, those numbers are at three teams at more than 140 and seven teams at more than 130.
•Dale Lolley is co-host of "SNR Drive" on Steelers Nation Radio. Subscribe to the podcast here: Apple Podcast | iHeart Podcast
But that alone doesn't justify 1,000-yard rushers being cut nearly in half.
Some of the reason is because backs are sharing time more around the league, the Steelers' situation with Harris and Jaylen Warren among them.
Harris, who has rushed for 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons, currently has 801 yards with two games remaining. Warren, meanwhile, sits at 676.
Detroit's David Montgomery has 910 yards, while teammate Jahmyr Gibbs has 872, giving both an outside shot at 1,000. Montgomery, who missed three games with injuries, is averaging 75.8 yards per game, while Gibbs, who missed two games, is at 67.1.
Seattle also does the same with Kenneth Walker (774 yards) and Zach Charbonnet (428).
But the biggest factor might be injuries.
Nine of last season's 1,000-yard rushers – Josh Jacobs, Nick Chubb, Saquon Barkley, Miles Sanders, Justin Fields, Aaron Jones, Jamaal Williams, Kenneth Walker and Rhamondre Stevenson – have missed multiple games this season
Three, Dalvin Cook, Williams and Sanders, changed teams and saw their roles decrease heavily.
Health and opportunity are such a big factor in rushing for 1,000 yards in today's NFL. Of the 16 players who did it in 2022, all played in at least 15 games.
