Over the last few games, veteran inside linebacker Patrick Queen has started to quietly show some signs of his game rounding into form as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Those signs turned into a full-blown showing Sunday in Week 10 against the Washington Commanders. On the road after a much-needed bye week, Queen turned in his best performance as a Steeler, dominating against the Commanders’ high-powered offense.
Coming into the matchup, Queen was the player I highlighted as my X-factor for the Steelers in the Depot Roundtable, and boy, did he deliver. Queen finished with a team-high seven tackles, added two tackles for loss, and broke up a pass in coverage.
He was at his best Sunday against the Commanders and looked like the linebacker the Steelers envisioned getting. He is a run-and-hit linebacker with great range who makes plays sideline to sideline.
On the day, Queen played 64 snaps (100%) and graded out at a 64.0 overall from Pro Football Focus. He had three run stops and one pressure on the afternoon while allowing three receptions for four targets for 26 yards, including one pass breakup.
It was the exact performance fans have been waiting for from Queen. Let’s look at the tape.
One of the first plays that stands out is Queen’s tackle for loss on Commanders’ RB Austin Ekeler in the first half.
Queen triggered downhill on the 2nd and 1 run play in the first quarter, thanks to a pre-snap read.
He sees the pulling guard in Washington RG Sam Cosmi and does a great job of slipping underneath Cosmi on the move, giving him a clean, free lane to get to Ekeler for the tackle for loss. Impressive stuff from Queen, something we hadn’t seen much of this season.
That play ignited Queen on the afternoon.
Then, in the second quarter, Queen again showed off his range against the run, getting to Ekeler in space for another 2-yard loss.
He did a good job of reading his keys, finding the football, and flowing to the point of contact. Early on in the season, Patrick Queen had some issues with missed tackles. He currently leads the team with 11 misses on the season with a 16.6% missed tackles rate.
But as I have written time and time again with Queen and the misses, he has the range to make some impressive plays just by getting to the ball carrier. You take the good with the bad with him. It seems like he’s cleaned up the missed tackles issues coming out of the bye.
The range that Queen displayed throughout the game against the Commanders was exactly what he showed on tape during his time in Baltimore. It showed up in a big way on the road for the Steelers on Sunday.
Awesome play to make for just a 4-yard gain from Commanders’ QB Jayden Daniels. Queen goes from inside the hash marks to making the play for a short gain near the sideline.
That’s his calling card. He’s an athletic specimen with great range, and when he clicks, he can run down plays much like he did here against Daniels, who is no slouch in space.
Patrick Queen has struggled in his career with staying clean in traffic and getting off blocks. He’s great when he’s left clean and clear to run and make plays, but he has issues when a lineman climbs to him in traffic.
That wasn’t the case on Sunday. He was able to stack and shed blockers and find ways to get to the ball carrier in traffic.
Granted, this play went for 5 yards on a 3rd and 2, so it’s not all positive. But look at the way he’s able to use his hands to punch and stay clean against the blocker, stay square in the hole, and get his nose to the ball.
We haven’t seen that much from Patrick Queen this season, but it showed up on Sunday, and it was much-needed.
Again, he’s making a clean stop in space, too. Very, very encouraging.
Queen even showed up in coverage a few times, too.
The veteran linebacker gets good depth on his drop here, all while reading Daniels’ eyes. Once he gets to his spot, he’s able to get square and then triggers to drive on the underneath throw intended for Commanders’ WR Terry McLaurin.
Impressive closing speed from Queen to get to the catch point, and then once he’s there, he does a great job of knocking the football out of McLaurin’s hands to earn a pass breakup. This came on a 2nd and 13 and ultimately helped the Steelers’ defense get off the field again, which was a huge advantage for Pittsburgh, particularly in the second half.
It was Patrick Queen’s best game as a Steeler, and the fact that it came following the bye week where he got a chance to regroup and reset is very encouraging. Hopefully, better days are ahead for Queen, too, starting with Week 11 against the Baltimore Ravens in a massive game for the former Raven, who will enter it with a chip on his shoulder.
