Since the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Patrick Queen before the 2024 season, his better performances have come at an inconsistent rate. But on Monday night against the Miami Dolphins, Queen played one of his better games of the 2025 season.
As the leader of a defense that had given up 200 rushing yards in each of the previous two games, there was a lot of pressure on Queen and the defense as a whole. According to his teammate, Cam Heyward, he stepped up to the plate.
“PQ is growing in this defense. He feels more confident. Whether he’s talking about a play, nixing a play, he is the vocal leader on our defense, when it comes to having plays, and getting us lined up. But when he’s flowing downhill, I don’t think there’s anybody that can stop him,” Heyward said after the Steelers’ 28-15 win via Steelers.com.
Many times throughout this season, the Steelers’ defense has struggled to maintain a level of intensity. Too often, the unit has been run all over and has shown a lack of physicality in losses.
On Monday, the Steelers were the more physical team on the field, and it wasn’t close. A lot of that energy came from Patrick Queen. Especially on this 3rd and 1, as he reads the play correctly, blows through the line of scrimmage, and brings Ollie Gordon II down for a loss. A tackle like this is the difference between Miami settling for a field goal or picking up the first down and possibly scoring a touchdown on the drive.
That was part of a team-leading nine tackles on the day, and eight of them were solo. The stop above on Gordon was a four-yard loss,and that wasn’t Queen’s only tackle behind the line of scrimmage. He also pushed De’Von Achane out of bounds for a one-yard loss in the first quarter. He was strong against the run all night. Most of his tackles came near the line of scrimmage, or just a couple yards beyond it.
One thing was for sure: the Steelers simply could not contend for the playoffs if they kept allowing 200 rushing yards a week. To break that streak, the unit needed its best players to step up. That’s exactly what Patrick Queen did against Miami.