Mountaineers Now

Zach Frazier Receives Unjustified Blame for Botched Snap Leading to Steelers Loss

The former Mountaineer is getting criticized by Steeler fans for how Sunday's game ended.

Schuyler Callihan

Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
In this story:

Former West Virginia center Zach Frazier was indeed the center of attention at the end of the Pittsburgh Steelers' 27-24 loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.

With less than two minutes to go in the game, the Steelers had the ball at their own 42 and driving. Unfortunately, miscommunication between Frazier, left guard Mason McCormick, and quarterback Justin Fields led to a snap coming when Fields wasn't expecting it which resulted in a loss of 12 yards.

A good portion of Steeler fans are placing the blame on Frazier for this and the casual football fan would think it's his fault as well, but really this is more on Fields and McCormick. Fields took responsibility for the play in his postgame press conference.

“It was my fault. We were going on the first leg kick, Zach was ID’ing stuff, and I felt the DBs rotating and changing the back end picture so when he was ID’ing stuff telling the o-line where to go, I was just trying to get that final picture before the snap came. At the end of the day, it’s on the first leg kick, so after I kicked my leg up I’ve got to be ready for the ball. It’s on me.”

Frazier also offered his side of it in the postgame locker room stating, “I got the tap and I snapped the ball. I was in the middle of making a call when I got the tap. Just got the call out and I just have to snap it. I don’t know exactly what happened on it, but it’s just unfortunate.”

MORE STORIES FROM WEST VIRGINIA ON SI

Mailbag: Importance of This Week for Neal Brown, Key vs. Oklahoma State + More

Betting Odds for West Virginia vs. Oklahoma State

Sunday Morning Thoughts: Don't Count Out West Virginia Just Yet

ESPN's Updated Game-by-Game Odds for WVU Will Raise Some Eyebrows

Published
Schuyler Callihan
SCHUYLER CALLIHAN

Publisher of Mountaineers Now on FanNation/Sports Illustrated. Lead recruiting expert and co-host of Between the Eers, Walk Thru GameDay Show, Mountaineers Now Postgame Show, and In the Gun Podcast.

Home/Mountaineers in the Pros