It wasn’t just DK Metcalf and Arthur Smith having a heart-to-heart talk after the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 26-7 Week 13 loss to the Buffalo Bills. The entire defense challenged each other, too. In an early version of Festivus’ Airing of the Grievances, linebacker Patrick Queen said the room had didn’t hold back about what needed to improve after the team’s worst loss of the season.
“Everybody knows they feel the same way,” Queen told reporters Thursday via 93.7 The Fan. “It’s not just, “Hey, I see this and I’m keeping it in my head.’ And everybody’s saying the same thing, but nobody’s saying nothing. It got to the point that you can feel the tension in the room and everybody who needed to say something said something.”
It’s not clear if this was a true “players only” meeting that struggling teams hold, often as a last resort to right the ship. Or if the conversation was more informal than that. But Queen’s point is that the defense simply wasn’t communicating enough. Even if players understood their role, they weren’t sharing that with teammates. Inevitably, that will mean someone isn’t on the same page, leading to busted plays and coverages.
“We started turning in the right direction and Buffalo was just like, the last straw,” Queen said via the team website. “Everybody got off what they needed to get off. And everybody was basically right. Everybody was saying the same exact thing. That we just gotta be accountable and do our job.”
Since, the Steelers’ defense has played substantially better. Pittsburgh held Baltimore to just 20 points and kept RB Derrick Henry in check even if the Ravens had overall success on the ground. The Steelers were dominant against the Dolphins Monday night with most of Miami’s points coming in garbage time.
“It’s been flowing right ever since,” Queen said.
However, Pittsburgh will have its biggest litmus test this weekend. The Detroit Lions enter Week 16 with the NFL’s No. 1 scoring offense, posting 34 or more points in eight games. That’s the most by any team through Week 15 since the 2018 Kansas City Chiefs.
If the Steelers can minimize the Lions’ offense, it’ll be true proof that the defense can step up in the playoffs. If so, those difficult conversations after Week 13 may prove to be the catalyst.