When it’s Steelers-Ravens week with the stakes as high as they are for Saturday’s game, Pittsburgh clinching the AFC North with a win, everyone is loud. Everybody talks. Even the long snapper. Appearing on the Ryan Ripken Show Thursday, Ravens LS Nick Moore made it clear that Baltimore’s offensive line is looking to take charge. And take it to Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen.
“We’ve got one of the best centers in the game,” Moore told the show. “We’ve got one of the best left tackles in the game. We have a very dominant offensive line. These guys are going to be looking to set the tone for our team. And they’re going to do that by moving people out of the way. And getting 22 the ball and letting him get downhill. And then we’re going to find out who’s the man. How big a boy is PQ when it’s 22 and 6?”
“PQ” and “6,” of course, referring to Queen and “22” referring to Ravens stud running back Derrick Henry. It’ll be Queen’s first game in Baltimore since signing with Pittsburgh and there figures to be plenty of bad blood. Ahead of the first matchup in Week 11, Queen revealed the Ravens never offered him a contract ahead of free agency and he hadn’t spoken to the coaching staff or front office since leaving.
Now back in his old stomping grounds, he’ll hear plenty from the Ravens’ crowd, expecting and embracing all the smack talk thrown his way. Now, it’s not just coming from fans but from former teammates, too. There is something funny to be said about the long snapper challenging Queen and hoping his offensive line backs up his words. Moore has served as the Ravens’ long snapper since 2021, replacing long-time veteran Morgan Cox.
In the Ravens’ Week 11 loss in Pittsburgh, Henry carried the ball 13 times for 65 yards, busting off one long run but bottled up for the rest of the game. He also had a costly fumble on the second play of the game as EDGE Nick Herbig pursued and swatted the ball away, recovered by Pittsburgh.
“These guys are going to answer the bell on that one,” Moore said of his o-line. “It’s going to be fun. It’s going to be a physical-ass game.”
Once again, the Steelers’ mission will be to limit Henry and the Ravens’ potent running game. Queen will be central to that. He had an excellent game against his former team in Week 11, finishing with 10 tackles (one for a loss) and a critical forced fumble/fumble recovery on TE Isaiah Likely at the end of the first half. That netted Pittsburgh an additional three points in what ended as a two-point victory.
Amped up as he previewed the matchup, Moore said this game will be as physical and intense as the first meeting.
“It’s going to be a bloodbath,” he told Ripken. “That’s Steelers-Ravens football. We don’t want it any other way. We’re going to answer. We’re ready to rock. And these guys are going to be ready to go. We’re fucking ready to rock, dude.”
Moore offered some credit to the Steelers, acknowledging how prepared they will be for this game. The Steelers have won eight of the last nine games between the heated rivals and four in a row. Making it five would be the team’s sweetest victory of the season even as injuries and circumstances stack the deck against them.
Before Moore’s comments, there was plenty of motivation for this game. Nothing matters more than clinching the division. But Queen has seemingly heard every slight and comment from the Ravens’ side since leaving and will be looking to prove Moore wrong by Saturday night.
