The Pittsburgh Steelers will be busy this week fixing a lot of things following their Week 4 loss to the Cleveland Browns. It was the defense's second straight week giving up nearly 30 points and something all too familiar was seen in the contest. At times, they were lost due to miscommunication and defensive breakdowns. That was especially true for linebacker Patrick Queen, who had a very rough go of it Thursday night. This comes following a really impressive game in Week 3 against the Cincinnati Bengals. On Monday, criticism was still being given to the linebacker for his play in Cleveland.
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Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen celebrates during a game in 2025 against the Minnesota Vikings which took place at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland.
Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham now has to go back to the drawing board to figure out what went wrong and correct it ahead of the matchup against the Indianapolis Colts. The unit allowed less than 20 points per game through the first two weeks of this season and was very dominant. However, Graham's group has lost that momentum they had and it is especially true for their veteran linebacker.
On Monday, team insider Gerry Dulac joined the morning show on 102.5 WDVE in Pittsburgh to discuss the game and where the team goes from here. During the segment, he mentioned the breakdowns the unit has suffered from in recent years. He also did not look past the play of Queen and provided some harsh criticism.
“I see a lot of criticism out there about Patrick Queen and it’s deserved,” Dulac said. “You know the funny thing is, it comes one game after he played maybe his best game as a Steeler. They gave him a game ball against the Bengals. Here, four days later, he plays like he was tired or didn’t want to get hit or whatever the case may be.”
After joining the franchise following four years with the division rival Baltimore Ravens, this has become an alarming trend in his play. The Week 3 performance against Cincinnati was a refreshing sight to see from Queen. However, Dulac's comments seem to suggest Queen's play against Cleveland is more of what fans are used to seeing.
The good trend for the Black and Gold right now is that their offense is starting to produce more which was something it struggled to do in the first two weeks. The concerning problem is that the defense has regressed following those first two contests and is going in the wrong direction. They will need to regroup and get back to how they were playing, especially to ease the pressure on quarterback Aaron Rodgers and that offensive group.
Steelers' Defense Must Find Better Consistency For Team To Have Success
The Steelers' defensive dominance in Week 1 and Week 2 made it very easy to believe that Graham had them ready to stop old habits and become a top defense in the NFL. Allowing under 20 points a game is something that gives a perfect recipe for winning a lot of football games in this league, especially with an experienced quarterback in Rodgers. Head Coach Mike McCarthy was brought in to improve that group and, while they struggled the first two weeks, they appear to be starting to figure out his system by their play in the past two weeks.
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Pittsburgh Steelers inside linebacker Patrick Queen (6) looks to tackle Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) during the 2025 regular season.
If Graham's group is going to turn things around quickly, they are going to need the veteran leadership of Queen to be a massive focal point in doing that. While Dulac states his best game as a member of the Steelers may have been in Week 3, they do not need him to have that type of output each week. However, his performance on the road last Thursday night is something that they cannot have because it will not lead to success for them defensively. Given his experience in the league, he should be motivated to come out in Week 5 and put the criticism to rest.
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