Coming into Sunday’s matchup against the Baltimore Ravens with a clear chip on his shoulder after being allowed to walk in free agency, new Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen put his stamp on the game late in the first half.
Queen, who signed a three-year, $41 million deal in free agency, came up large for the Steelers late in the first half, forcing a fumble on Ravens’ tight end Isaiah Likely one play after a Steelers punt. That gave the Steelers the football deep in Baltimore territory.
Take a look at Queen’s forced fumble.
Queen did a great job of raking at the football, ripping it out just before Likely’s elbow and knee went down, popping the football up into the air. That resulted in the fumble recovery for Queen, giving Pittsburgh great field position.
Queen revealed earlier last week that the Ravens never even offered him a contract and didn’t want him back, putting a significant chip on his shoulder.
Queen, who said that he was embracing the villain role in the matchup, was part of the captains for the pregame coin toss, and on Sunday he came up large.
That shouldn’t be a surprise, considering the talk back and forth all offseason regarding Queen and his move to the Steelers. Baltimore cornerback Marlon Humphrey talked quite a bit of trash this offseason toward Queen, and even linebacker Roquan Smith did the same as well.
Queen stayed relatively quiet, even throughout the week leading up to the matchup, outside of his villain comments and revealing the Ravens didn’t want him back. He’s happy to be in Pittsburgh, though, and is letting his play do the talking, coming up large for the Steelers and helping them take a 9-7 lead into halftime.
