The Pittsburgh Steelers fell to the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday by a score of 34-17, and it was a rough outing on all sides of the ball. The Steelers lost the turnover battle, there was an error on special teams as Chris Boswell had a kickoff go out of bounds, and the defense struggled once again to get the Ravens' offense off of the field. Pittsburgh could not contain the rushing attack of Baltimore, which was a big catalyst in the win for the Ravens on a day where Pittsburgh could have clinched the AFC North.
All phases of the game can be blamed for the loss in Baltimore, but the defense struggled for the second consecutive week. The tackling was poor, and Derrick Henry was able to run the ball at will as he averaged over six yards per carry.
The Ravens ran for 220 yards, which is a recipe for disaster for the Steelers. Inside linebacker Patrick Queen spoke to the media following the game, and he had some strong words as he called out his defensive teammates after the poor performance.
"Guys gotta take a long look in the mirror and get better." Queen said. "If you’re supposed to be in a certain position, you gotta be in that f***ing position. It’s that simple."
It seems like there was likely some miscommunication for the Steelers out on the field on the defensive side of the ball. That was bound to happen as the team was missing three defensive starters as Donte Jackson, DeShon Elliott and Larry Ogunjobi were all inactive for the game in Baltimore. This means players that usually play less snaps were on the field, and that makes it tougher to make sure everyone is in he right position.
Steelers' Queen Takes Part Of The Blame For Poor Defensive Performance
Queen did call out his teammates, but the inside linebacker also knows he could have done a better job as well. Queen wears the green dot, meaning it is his responsibility to communicate the play calls to the rest of the defense. He is considered the quarterback of the defense, and if players are out of position or do not fulfill their responsibilities on any given play, he is partially to blame. Queen spoke about this with the media.
"Like I said, people got to do their jobs." Queen said. "Starting with me and wherever it trickles down. Whoever got a job to do they got to do that job. Especially when we're in man, like there shouldn't be a man running free, if anything it should be you making a play or him making a play over you. There shouldn't be no guys just running scot free."
The secondary was definitely an issue for the Steelers, as it seemed there were multiple lapses in coverage throughout the contest. Two of the Ravens' offensive touchdowns were relatively uncontested, and that is a sign of miscommunication throughout the defense. This can't happen on Christmas Day when the Steelers host the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes, who will easily be able to pick apart the defense if the group can't be on the same page.
