Mike Tomlin gave Ravens defender Patrick Queen the ultimate rivalry motivation

No, it does not take much to get up for whenever the Baltimore Ravens face the Pittsburgh Steelers on the gridiron. These two AFC North titans have clashed twice annually, pretty much ever since Baltimore was birthed out of the ashes of the former Cleveland Browns. So whether you play for the Ravens like Patrick Queen, or coach the Steelers like Mike Tomlin does, you need to be ready for it.

3-1 Baltimore will travel near The Confluence to face 2-2 Pittsburgh. The Ravens are led by their star quarterback Lamar Jackson, while Pittsburgh is still trying to figure out if Kenny Pickett is their guy or just another dude from Pitt. Regardless, Queen and company see the big opportunity ahead of him. As if he needed any more motivation, he remembers what Tomlin said to him when he was a rookie.

The story goes that during the 2020 COVID season, the No. 28 overall pick out of LSU was essentially heckled by the Steelers head coach. With there not being fans in the stands for much of that season, those words did cut deep. Tomlin supposedly said "you're not a Raven", which is the ultimate sign of disrespect in this rivalry. While Queen is most definitely not a Steeler, Tomlin did not respect him.

The NFL may be a step up from the SEC, but Queen was a first-round pick out of LSU for a reason.

Tomlin can only hope that Queen does not make a play that ends up costing the Steelers a victory.

Patrick Queen is motivated by Mike Tomlin's 2020 comments about him

Look. This rivalry series is and always will be chippy. The Ravens and Steelers have headlined the NFL's black and blue division historically, although we have seen both the Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals punch up from their weight class from time to time. Regardless, every time the Ravens play the Steelers, it can resemble a car crash on the football field with blood, bruises and blisters galore.

Given that Queen is a defensive player, he can use this extra source of motivation to his advantage every time Baltimore plays Pittsburgh. Unfortunately, the Ravens only play the Steelers twice a season, with one more potential meeting in the postseason, if we are so lucky. Frankly, Tomlin probably does not remember this encounter, as he was too busy trying to win games for the Steelers.

Ultimately, you always root for this kind of vitriol entering a big rivalry game. The NFL can feel so shamelessly corporate far too often, but series like this one between the Ravens and Steelers has always been a breath of fresh air, even if you are breathing out of one side of your broken nose that is caked in mud once it reaches conclusion. The league was not built on this rivalry, but it deserves this.

May we get a third meeting in January between these playoff-contending teams out of the AFC.