Half of the 2024 NFL season is over, and the Pittsburgh Steelers certainly left some people surprised. They’re on top of the AFC North, and their offense seems to be picking up steam. However, there’s no question that their defense deserves a lot of the credit for their success. They’ve arguably been the best in the NFL, but that isn’t stopping Patrick Queen from wanting them to improve.
“I think we haven’t been perfect,” Queen said Monday via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s YouTube channel. “Nowhere even close to good. I think it’s just been a steppingstone for us to be able to go out there and provide our offense, get them [the] ball back.
“Providing this team with a chance to win, I think there’s a higher level that we could achieve. That’s where it’s gonna take all 11. We all gonna have to show up, stop the run, and we know if we get a team to drop back [and] pass what’s gonna happen. That’s the focus right now is just stopping the run.”
The Steelers’ defense hasn’t been perfect, but it’s definitely been good. According to FOX Sports, through Week 8, they have the ninth-best total defense in the league. That includes the 22nd-ranked passing defense, fourth-ranked run defense, and second-best scoring defense.
That might just speak to the standard Queen wants to hold the Steelers’ defense to. Overall, they’ve been great, but they’ve had a few lapses from time to time. The game against the Indianapolis Colts was brutal, and they had a few rough starts against teams like the Las Vegas Raiders and New York Jets, but they’ve almost always finished strong.
Those rankings might imply that the Steelers have struggled more against the pass than the run, but that hasn’t really been true. Take their most recent game. The New York Giants kept the game close, but that was because they were gashing the Steelers on the ground. Quarterback Daniel Jones made a few big throws, but for the most part, the Giants’ run game was the engine of their offense.
That’s why Queen is saying the defense is focused on stopping the run. The Giants are one of the NFL’s worst teams, and yet they gave the Steelers a fight. The Colts beat the Steelers with their ground game as well. Even the Cowboys had an above-average performance on the ground against the Steelers.
As the quarterback on defense, Queen is a leader despite only being in his first year with the Steelers. He hasn’t been incredibly impactful, but he also hasn’t been terrible. Therefore, it’s good that he isn’t getting comfortable. Just like how it seemed the Steelers’ offense had another gear to hit, so too does it feel like the Steelers’ defense can be even better.
