As we do every week to get you ready for the upcoming game, we give you 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 New England Patriots.
STEELERS VS PATRIOTS X-FACTOR: ILB PATRICK QUEEN
Before the 2024 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers knew they needed to make some additions at linebacker. They brought in Payton Wilson through the draft but made a bigger move in free agency to acquire Patrick Queen. He spent the first portion of his career in Baltimore but left for the other side of the rivalry after the Ravens didn’t offer him a contract in free agency.
His first season in Pittsburgh wasn’t bad, and he was reliable. Queen played every single defensive snap in 2024, but the defense really started to fade towards the end of the season. Queen’s defense was terrible against the run, and there were plenty of miscommunications against the pass, something Queen was unhappy about at the end of last year.
Handling the green dot and the responsibility that goes along with it is tough. Patrick Queen is the hub of communication for the defense, so any issues in that regard end up tying back to him in some way. Handling that was hard for him during his first year in Pittsburgh, but most figured it would improve in year two. Queen himself seemed to feel better about it.
Unfortunately, things don’t seem to have changed at all. The communication defensively was bad against the Seahawks, and the Steelers struggled to hear over the noise of their own crowd.
What’s most important, though, is the run defense. Pittsburgh has given up 299 yards through two games, something Queen has to help stop.
The clip above is a good representation of how the Steelers have been getting run over so far this season. The defensive line isn’t doing anything productive, but Queen and Wilson aren’t filling gaps like they need to, either.
Truth be told, not all of these issues are on Patrick Queen. However, when you pay a free agent that much money, expectations come along with it. You’d expect him to fill gaps when needed. And wearing the green dot, he carries some responsibility for the way the defense communicates. The entire defense needs to be better, but Queen will be a key part of that effort on Sunday.
