The Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens might own the greatest rivalry in all of football. When these two teams play, magic happens. No matter how much better one team is versus the other, their games end up being competitive. However, this upcoming game might just be a little more personal for former Raven Patrick Queen. It sounds like Queen still has a chip on his shoulder when it comes to Baltimore, but former Ravens linebacker Bart Scott believes he’s in for a rude awakening this week.
“Even though we hate the Steelers, we respect them, and we’ll never admit that out loud,” Scott said Friday on ESPN’s Get Up. “But every once in a while, you get a Judas. And the Judas is Patrick Queen. He went over to the dark side. He’s going to learn. He’s gonna mess around and find out.”
Scott might be frustrated with Queen for joining the Ravens’ biggest rival, but it’s not like he had many options. As Queen himself revealed, the Ravens didn’t offer him a contract. If he wanted to stay in Baltimore, he didn’t have a choice in the matter. Now, they might have to reap what they’ve sown.
It isn’t like Queen is the only player in this rivalry’s history to flip sides either. Arthur Maulet left the Steelers for the Ravens. Mike Wallace ended up with the Ravens. Le’Veon Bell even had a cup of coffee in Baltimore. Queen isn’t the first, and he won’t be the last.
Saying Queen is going to have a rough outing against the Ravens is bold too. It’s not a crazy suggestion because the Ravens do have the best offense in the league. However, it isn’t like Queen has been a bad player this season. Maybe he hasn’t been at the All-Pro level he was last year, but he’s still been a reliable player.
Last week, Queen had his best outing with the Steelers. He was flying all over the field, and Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels had a tough time trying to outrun Queen.
Daniels and Lamar Jackson are not the same player, but that goes to show how useful Queen can be against a mobile quarterback. His speed should present a unique challenge to Jackson. This Ravens team is different too, but Queen should have some familiarity playing against them.
Maybe Queen will “find out” like Scott says, but it sounds like he’s going to try to be at his best this week. If he plays anything like he did last week, then he’ll be just fine. Hopefully he can prove Scott wrong.
