After spending four years as his teammate with the Baltimore Ravens, getting the chance to not only see, but play against Pittsburgh Steelers’ linebacker Patrick Queen is something Ravens’ TE Mark Andrews has come to enjoy after the first two matchups with Queen on the other side of the rivalry now.
A first-round pick of the Ravens in the 2020 NFL Draft out of LSU, Queen spent four seasons with Baltimore, putting together a second-team All-Pro season in 2023. Prior to the 2023 season, the Ravens declined Queen’s fifth-year option, making him a free agent after that year.
The Steelers pounced on him, landing Queen on a three-year deal worth $41 million, aiming to answer the ILB position for years to come. Though he’s had an up-and-down first season with the Steelers, Queen had a huge impact in the first matchup with the Ravens, recording 10 tackles and forcing a key fumble, setting up a Chris Boswell field goal.
On Saturday in Baltimore though, Queen really struggled. Andrews got the best of him in one matchup, hauling in a 16-yard pass, helping the Ravens roll to a 34-17 win.
Despite getting the win over Queen and the Steelers and having some success in individual matchups with his former teammate, Andrews — who appeared on the Pat McAfee Show Monday afternoon — had nothing but praise for his former teammate.
“It’s great [to face Queen]. I got a lot of love for Patrick and the type of player that he is. That was a good one,” Andrews said of the matchup with Queen and his 16-yard catch against him, according to video via the show’s YouTube page. “There’s one in the end zone where I should have had on him, but he made a good play.
“But it’s always good to see that guy and go against him. And I’m sure there’s gonna be many more battles for three years to come.”
https://x.com/PatMcAfeeShow/status/1871246776495411285
Matching up with Queen on Saturday, according to Pro Football Focus, Andrews was targeted twice against the Steelers’ linebacker and hauled in the 16-yard pass from QB Lamar Jackson.
Here’s a look at that play.
Andrews was able to get physical at the top of his stem and clear Queen, running away from him on the crossing route for the big catch, which helped spark the Ravens’ touchdown drive after the Steelers had just scored to knot it up at 17-17.
Earlier in the game, Queen held his own while matched up with Andrews 1-on-1 in the red zone, getting physical with his former teammate and playing through the catchpoint in the end zone to help for an incompletion against Andrews.
In the previous matchup in Week 11 at Acrisure Stadium, Andrews wasn’t targeted against Queen, keeping the veteran tight end from getting a shot at his former teammate.
But on Saturday, he did, and he made a big play.
Outside of that one catch against Queen, the Steelers did a decent job keeping Andrews in check. However, he did find the end zone thanks to a brutal miscommunication between safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and cornerback Cameron Sutton in which Sutton should have taken Andrews, leading to the Ravens’ star tight end being wide open in the end zone.
Moving forward, that matchup — along with Isaiah Likely — will be a key one in Steelers-Ravens. It’ll be fun to watch.
