Steelers' Patrick Queen Receives Praise For Being Up To Mike Tomlin's "Challenge"

The Pittsburgh Steelers have seen plenty of growth in recent weeks. However, the schedule will be getting much harder as the season progresses, with numerous playoff contenders lining up to try and prove that this team is just a pretender and not a contender. Pittsburgh's true colors will be showing soon. Does this team truly have what it takes to make a playoff run, or will it just be the same result as the previous eight seasons? Only time will tell, and it starts with a divisional game on the road for Thursday Night Football. 

During his weekly press conference, Head Coach Mike Tomlin was recently asked about the growth and development of his defensive quarterback, Patrick Queen. He had nothing but great things to say about the second-year Steeler. 

"[Patrick Queen] looks like a guy in his second year," Tomlin explained. "I challenge second-year guys, whether it's second year in the National Football League or second year with the Steelers. Last year was his first year as a defensive quarterback, and so it's reasonable to expect him to be better, and he certainly has been. I'm excited about where that's going to go. I know particularly in the last couple weeks, he has been a big impact in our unit."

In 2025 so far, Queen has racked up 44 tackles, five tackles for loss, three quarterback hits, one sack, and three passes defended. While he has not made many splash plays, he has been a much more consistent force in the middle of the field. This is the kind of player that Pittsburgh thought it was getting when it gave him a three-year contract in the 2024 offseason. 

Queen's first season in Pittsburgh was full of major issues. His stats were good overall, but they were just empty numbers that failed to tell the whole story. All offseason, he and some teammates were talking about how 2025 has to be better, and how 2024 was not like him at all. So far, it looks like the Steelers have finally seen who the real Patrick Queen is, and that has been a major boost to the defense.

One of the major changes is where Queen is making plays. While he had 129 tackles in 2024, most of them came after allowing 4-5 yards on a run or giving up a decent gain on a pass. Not only is he on pace to make more tackles in 2025, but more of them are happening closer to the line of scrimmage. He is allowing fewer yards per play overall, and that is why his current stats are not as empty as the previous season. 

Steelers May Have Fixed Biggest Issue

The biggest change is communication. That was the biggest thing that plagued this unit during their major collapse at the end of the previous season, and that was one of the biggest talking points around the team leading up to the year. Queen had problems getting play calls out and doing the proper audibles, and it led to opposing teams moving the ball on them at will. 

There were still some communication issues early on in the season, but they seem to be fading away. There didn't appear to be any busted coverages or confused defenders in the Steelers' Week 6 win. If this trend can continue in the right direction, there is a good chance that Pittsburgh doesn't have one of their patented late-season collapses.

Overall, the Steelers definitely have looked better, but they have not played the best of the best quite yet. The hardest part of the schedule is still ahead of them. Queen needs to continue to show growth for this campaign to have any chance of being a success. You can't have any communication failures and coverage busts against teams like the Buffalo Bills.

What do you think about Tomlin praising Queen's development in this defense? Let us know in the comments or on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.

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