As we do every week to get you ready for our upcoming game, our X-factor of the week. Sometimes, it’s a player, unit, concept, or scheme. Here’s our Pittsburgh Steelers X-factor of the game against the Baltimore Ravens.
STEELERS VS RAVENS X-FACTOR: PATRICK QUEEN
The Steelers and Ravens have arguably the most intense rivalry in the NFL. Now, they get to see each other for the third time this season. For neutral fans, this is exciting, with these teams almost always playing in close close. For Steelers and Ravens fans, they know just how important this game is for both franchises and the postseason ramps it up all the more.
With that in mind, this weeks Steelers’ X-factor for the is a former Raven, linebacker Patrick Queen. Pittsburgh lulled their former rival over in free agency last offseason. Queen’s had both good and bad moments in a Steelers’ uniform, but he is coming off a solid performance to end the season against the Cincinnati Bengals last week.
As shown in the play above, Queen found ways to create chaos for the defense. That’s something we’ve seen rarely from this unit over the past month. It still wasn’t enough, with Pittsburgh falling by a score of 19-17. However, for the first time in a few weeks we saw the defense, led by Queen, show some signs of life against one of the best offenses in the NFL.
Since it’s the playoffs, everyone on the Steelers’ roster will obviously need to be on their A-game this week. For Queen, things might matter more. He spent the first four years of his career with the Ravens. It was revealed early in the season that Queen never received a contract offer from Baltimore after his deal expired. Obviously, there’s going to be some animosity and another level of intensity for Queen.
He’ll need to translate that into a good performance if Pittsburgh wants to win on Saturday night, as Queen will have plenty of responsibilities. There might be times in which he acts as a spy, keeping an eye on Baltimore’s MVP-candidate quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Even when he’s not, Queen won’t be able to relax. He and the rest of the linebackers are going to have to contain Ravens RB Derrick Henry if Pittsburgh wants any chance at a win. If Baltimore runs the ball with ease, it will be a long night for the Steelers. Queen needs to make an impact here.
In the passing game, where Queen has struggled at various points throughout the year, he’s got a touch matchup in TE Mark Andrews. After a slow start to the year, Andrews has found his role again in the Ravens offense. He’ll likely receive some targets over the middle of the field, where Queen will need to lock things down.
All in all, the defense needs to be better than they were in the Steelers 34-17 loss in Baltimore a month ago, and that starts with Queen. If they can play well, and the offense wakes up, the Steelers could pull off quite the upset Saturday.
