For what it's worth, neither Patrick Queen nor Roquan Snith have been as effective without the other. Perhaps they were the perfect duo – only time will tell which is the better player, or if the Steelers made a mistake signing Queen to a lucrative deal this past offseason.
The narrative about Queen when he left Baltimore was that Smith helped free him up for gaudy statistics. The Steelers signed him anyway, and they knew him better than most. The Steelers and Baltimore play twice a year.
Prior to the Steelers first game against the Ravens this season, Queen sounded off about how he felt left behind by Baltimore.
"I wasn't wanted back. I didn't get an offer back. It's definitely kind of upsetting, being there for four years, the bond that you grow with your teammates. At the end of the day, the first few months, you definitely go through those feelings," Queen said.
Queen is not wrong, as the Ravens didn't bother matching Pittsburgh's asking price. Baltimore thought they could get along without him.
Per PFF, Queen ranked 72nd out of 83 qualified linebackers so far this season. Now, that doesn't take into account his matchup against the Ravens, where he could definitely improve such a ranking. Also, PFF is not football's bible. They can be wrong.
In the first half of the Steelers divisional matchup vs the Ravens, Queen forced a fumble, thus making his impact felt.
Patrick Queen with the clutch forced fumble against his former team!
— NFL (@NFL) November 17, 2024
📺: #BALvsPIT on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/EzloCtd8Rt
Patrick Queen is ANIMATED after forcing and recovering a fumble of Isaiah Likely. He runs toward the end zone jumping and pounding on his chest.
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) November 17, 2024
Patrick Queen!!!!!!!!
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) November 17, 2024
In classic Steelers-Ravens fashion, Pittsburgh was only able to score a field goal off this turnover – Baltimore's second of the day. Every Steelers-Ravens game ends the same way, and a 2024 matchup between two postseason contenders will likely follow suit.
Mike Tomlin allowed Queen to participate in the coin toss pregame, which he chalked up to good, ol' fashioned hate.
“Petty coin flip” for Patrick Queen. Not sure I recall Mike Tomlin doing this before. pic.twitter.com/cjXvb3jxQW
— Brian Batko (@BrianBatko) November 17, 2024
“I'm going to send him out for the coin toss, if that gives you any indication,” Tomlin said. “Motivation is good. We're human, and everyone wants to feel wanted. And so I'd imagine it's not only a motivation this week, but it's probably been a motivation for him every week.”
As much as Tomlin avoided giving Lamar Jackson bulletin-board material throughout the week, he eventually gave way to the rivalry on Sunday. I can't say I blame him.