In the first four weeks of the season, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense has struggled mightily to do much of anything correctly.
They’ve struggled to pass protect, struggled to run the football with any sort of consistency, and just haven’t functioned like an actual NFL offense in today’s league should.
It won’t get any easier in Week Five.
The Steelers welcome the rival AFC North Baltimore Ravens to Acrisure Stadium in Week Five, and with the Ravens comes the outstanding inside linebacker duo of Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen, the two of whom have helped transform the Ravens’ defense into one of the better ones in the league through the first four weeks.
Steelers veteran center Mason Cole knows the Steelers will have their hands full with the “unbelievable” duo, especially against the run. The Ravens are one of the top run defenses in football through the first four weeks, allowing just 92.5 rushing yards per game, good for seventh best in the NFL.
“Historically, just a really good, physical defense. Those two inside linebackers are unbelievable. They make that group go. They’re supplemented by a really, really solid defensive line and they’re gonna try to get you in bad circumstances and lay the pressure on you,” Cole stated to reporters regarding the Ravens’ inside linebacker duo of Smith and Queen, according to video via the Steelers’ YouTube page. “So, we’re gonna have to be ready for it from the get-go this week and be super detailed in our preparation.”
Smith and Queen definitely make the Ravens’ defense go. They are able to stay on the field in all situations and play at a high level, which is game-changing for Baltimore in today’s NFL. Through the first four weeks of the season, Queen has played 283 snaps for Baltimore and Smith has played 281, good for 97% and 96% of the Ravens’ defensive snaps, respectively.
That’s nearly unheard of in today’s NFL from inside linebackers, especially two on the same team.
Cole comments echoed the ones that Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin made on Tuesday during his weekly press conference in which he called Queen and Smith a “dynamic duo.”
“You start with talking about these linebackers, Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen, man, as a dynamic duo. They’re all-situational guys, man. You could put five wide outs on the field, and I’d imagine that those two guys are still gonna be on the field,” Tomlin said to reporters Tuesday regarding the Ravens’ linebacker duo, according to video via the Steelers’ YouTube page. “And I think that just speaks to how significant they are in run circumstances and pass circumstances, whether it’s in coverage or as blitzers, they are impactful. We gotta work our tails off to get hats on those guys at all times.”
They are significant, impactful defenders without a doubt.
Queen has elevated his game to a new level this season and will be entering the Week Five matchup against the Steelers with a chip on his shoulder. According to Pro Football Focus, Queen sits at a 72.4 overall on the season, including marks of 78.4 against the run and 64.1 in coverage. He has 15 run stops on the season out of 31 total tackles and has an additional five pressures and two sacks as a blitzer.
Queen has struggled a bit in coverage, allowing 14 receptions on 19 targets for 129 yards and a touchdown, but his numbers are good enough to rank him as the 19th-best linebacker in football in PFF’s metrics.
Smith’s numbers are even better.
Since arriving in Baltimore via trade from the Chicago Bears last season and ultimately signing a five-year, $100 million deal, Smith has been a star. Currently, he’s the top-graded linebacker in football by PFF at 89.4 overall, including an 84.3 against the run and an 85.4 in coverage.
Smith has 45 tackles on the season with 15 run stops and has allowed just 11 receptions on 16 total targets for 65 yards through the air with three passes defensed. He also, like Queen, has five total pressures and two sacks.
The last two times the Steelers dealt with Queen and Smith, Pittsburgh found a way to go 1-1 in 2022. Smith generated grades of just 73.9 against the Steelers in Week 14 last season and then a 67.4 in Week 17. Smith had a sack in Week 14 that put Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett in concussion protocol, too, knocking him from that game. Pickett got revenge on Smith late in the Week 17 game, hitting Najee Harris up the sideline for the game-winning score with Smith in coverage.
Queen had a real high in the Week 14 matchup, grading out at a 89.4 against the Steelers that day, generating three pressures and picking off a Mitch Trubisky pass over the middle. But the Steelers got the better of him in Week 17 as Queen graded out at a season-worst 33.5 overall.
The two are a real force in the middle of the Ravens’ attacking-style defense. They are what makes Baltimore go on that side of the football, which is no surprise given the history of the inside linebacker position within the Ravens’ franchise. Pittsburgh better be geared up to have answers for those two all day long, because they are true game changers.
