Patrick Queen swore that Sunday was not a revenge game for him against the Baltimore Ravens. Not initially, anyway.
"Well, look, this morning I had no hatred in my heart," Queen told NFL Network's Cameron Wolfe after the game. "I just wanted to come out here and do what I do and do what I do best.
"The first drive, I was kind of feeling it a little bit. [Nick Herbig] made a huge play, and it just came out of me playing football, all the emotions. … I just wanted to go out there and put on a show."
Queen, the ex-Raven, led a dominant Pittsburgh Steelers defensive performance on Sunday by holding Baltimore to two touchdown drives and a season-low 329 yards, as well as forcing three turnovers in Pittsburgh's 18-16 victory.
Queen not only led the Steelers in tackles with 10, but he made a huge strip and recovery deep in Baltimore territory late in the first half, allowing the Steelers to kick a field goal and take a 9-7 lead into halftime.
It might not have a revenge game for Queen, but Steelers head Mike Tomlin was happy to stoke the rivalry fires a bit, with his team poaching Queen in free agency after it appeared Baltimore had moved on from the linebacker.
"One man's trash is another man's treasure," Tomlin said after the game, per the Steelers' official site. "I'm glad he is on our team."
Depite a sub-par day, Lamar Jackson had the Ravens in a position to tie the game late after finding Zay Flowers for a 16-yard TD pass with 1:06 remaining. But Jackson's two-point try was thwarted when his scramble attempt was stopped and his desperation pass harmlessly hit the ground.
"I like the way our guys responded to the challenge," Tomlin said. "Particularly our defense. A lot was written and said about that (Ravens) offense coming into this game, and rightfully so. They have a lot of talent. They have a lot of weapons. They have good schematics."
But the Steelers were able to disrupt the Ravens' timing and force Jackson, an MVP favorite, into his worst game of the season. Tomlin said there was nothing fancy to the Steelers' approach to stopping their high-powered offense.
"We did what we always do," Tomlin said. "You better play hard, fast and together when you play this group and when you play Mr. Jackson. His talents are unique. Their schematics are unique.
"Forget the minutiae of what it is you do. You better play hard, fast, and together or you have no shot. We always start there."
The win moves the Steelers to 8-2, increasing their AFC North lead over the 7-4 Ravens. Following last week's dramatic victory in Washington, that's five straight victories for Pittsburgh. Sunday's dominance of the Ravens was also an improvement over the defensive showing against the Commanders, when the Steelers had a few hiccups.
"It means a lot, but it don't mean nothing if we don't repeat it come Thursday (at the Browns)," Queen said. "We knew it was a divisional game against a tough team, a tough opponent, and we knew it was gonna come down to the wire like it always does. We stood on business, we kept our focus, and we just handled business."
