Steelers' Patrick Queen Sees A Remarkable Change In Joe Burrow Before First-Place Clash

The Pittsburgh Steelers already have one victory over Cincinnati this season, but that doesn't mean their defense has figured out its quarterback. The first meeting ended with Pittsburgh celebrating and the opposing passer looking like he'd spent most of the afternoon solving the right answers anyway. Now, with first place in the AFC North on the line, one Steelers defender has offered an unusually generous assessment of the man trying to settle the score.

Patrick Queen has dealt with plenty of quarterbacks during his NFL career, including several who turn a perfectly reasonable defensive call into a long afternoon. But ahead of Sunday's rematch with the Cincinnati Bengals, the linebacker put Joe Burrow in particularly exclusive company. Queen believes the Cincinnati star's already impressive command of an offense has improved again.

Speaking to reporters in a clip shared by 93.7 The Fan, Queen explained why the quarterback appears to be operating at another level.

“He’s always been watching film and stuff and trying to get better at that point, but he’s just taking his game to a whole nother level. Obviously, he’s probably the best quarterback in the league right now,” Queen said.

Praise from a divisional rival is one thing. Calling the guy you're about to face the league's best quarterback is a little more uncomfortable, especially when the numbers are doing an excellent job backing up the compliment. Burrow has completed 74% of his passes for 2,386 yards, 23 touchdowns and six interceptions through eight games. He leads the NFL in touchdown passes, completion percentage and passer rating. That's not a hot streak disguised as a résumé; it's an MVP-level first half.

The film-study portion of Queen's quote is more revealing than the ranking. Burrow has always thrown an accurate football, but his advantage increasingly starts before the snap. He recognizes where coverage help is coming from, sees a pressure look forming and knows which matchup should open when the defense rotates. The ball can be gone before a rusher has time to celebrate winning his first step. A great pass rush has a much smaller margin for error against somebody processing the field that quickly.

Pittsburgh has already seen that problem up close. The Steelers won the September 27 meeting 30-27, but Burrow completed 28 of 37 passes for 282 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. He found Ja'Marr Chase nine times for 98 yards and Tee Higgins six times for 90. Cincinnati didn't lose because its quarterback couldn't decipher the defense. A late strip-sack by Derrick Harmon finally secured the win.

Burrow's most recent performance should make that memory a little less comforting. He completed 24 of 29 throws for 271 yards and three touchdowns in Cincinnati's 34-17 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Madrid. The Bengals are 6-2, matching Pittsburgh's record, and both clubs carry four-game winning streaks into Sunday night. Burrow's own comments about the rematch made it clear he understands what's available: the outright division lead.

There's a specific headache for Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham. Pittsburgh's improved pressure packages have helped Queen become a bigger factor, with 2.5 sacks over his past two games. Sending him through an interior gap can disrupt protection calls and make a quarterback speed up. Against Burrow, though, the same blitz can remove a defender from the space Cincinnati wants to attack. If the rotation behind Queen is late, Burrow doesn't need a second invitation to throw there.

That puts pressure on the Steelers' secondary as much as their pass rush. Jalen Ramsey must help communicate coverage changes, while Payton Wilson has to recognize when Queen's rush changes his own responsibilities. Cincinnati can use Chase's movement to reveal whether Pittsburgh is matching, passing routes off or playing zone. Any hesitation becomes an opening for Burrow to exploit, often without needing a particularly difficult throw.

Of course, there's a case for trusting the front to handle more of the work. TJ Watt and Cameron Heyward give Pittsburgh established threats without requiring five or six rushers on every down. The Steelers have collected 26 sacks through eight games, including eight against Cleveland, and have allowed just 57 points during their four-game winning streak. That progress is real. But Burrow isn't obliged to hold the ball long enough for those sack totals to impress him.

One more wrinkle: Cincinnati isn't surviving on highlight plays alone. The Bengals average 30 points per game, compared with Pittsburgh's 22.5. That gap doesn't determine Sunday's result, but it raises the price of every defensive mistake. Graham can live with a short completion on first down; letting one turn into a 40-yard gain against this offense can force Aaron Rodgers to spend the night chasing the scoreboard.

Steelers Must Make Burrow Question What He Sees

Queen deserves credit for saying what the tape shows. Calling an opponent exceptional isn't surrendering the matchup, and players aren't required to manufacture insults to prove they want to win. Pittsburgh would be asking for trouble if Graham treats extra pressure as an automatic solution against Burrow. His ability to diagnose a rush should influence how often the Steelers blitz and how convincingly they disguise their intentions.

Head Coach Mike McCarthy has already watched Cincinnati threaten his team once. Beating Burrow a second time, this time in his own stadium, would strengthen Pittsburgh's grip on the AFC North. But hoping for another last-minute turnover isn't much of a strategy against a quarterback completing nearly three-quarters of his passes.

Queen thinks Burrow might be the best in football. Sunday offers a far more useful question for the Steelers: can they make him look anything less than that for four quarters?

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