Patrick Queen Sends Steelers Strong Challenge After Woeful Game vs. Tucker Kraft
Linebacker Patrick Queen and the Pittsburgh Steelers defense struggled considerably covering Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft in Week 8. Kraft posted seven catches for 143 receiving yards and two touchdowns in the 35-25 Green Bay victory.
That could foreshadow bad things to come for the Steelers defense. Pittsburgh will host rookie tight end star Tyler Warren and the Indianapolis Colts on November 2 in Week 9.
However, Queen vowed Sunday night the Steelers defense will fix its coverage on tight ends immediately.
The linebacker didn’t say how it would be fixed. But he essentially promised it would.
“It’s going to be resolved,” Queen said. “It’s going to be resolved this week.”
Patrick Queen, Steelers Defense Struggling to Cover Opposing TEs
The Steelers defense had so much trouble stopping the run and slowing down the Cincinnati Bengals star receivers that after Week 7, Pittsburgh’s coverage on opposing tight ends was an afterthought.
But it isn’t anymore after Kraft led the Packers in receiving and torched the Steelers defense for two scores.
Kraft, though, wasn’t the first tight end to have a big game against Mike Tomlin’s unit this season.
The Steelers also allowed New England Patriots‘ Hunter Henry and Cleveland Browns’ Harold Fannin to post at least 80 receiving yards. Furthermore, the Steelers have yielded six receiving touchdowns to tight ends in seven games this season.
With that in mind, it’s hard to foresee how Queen’s statement that the Steelers will fix the problem this week comes true. But it would certainly help the unit if the team can do a better job containing tight ends.
That’s because the Steelers will face arguably the top rookie at the position in Week 9.
In eight games, Warren already has 37 catches for 492 yards and three touchdowns for the Colts. The rookie is averaging 13.3 yards per reception.
Warren doesn’t have any massive receiving games. But he has posted more than 50 yards every week but two.
Warren has also scored all three of his touchdowns since the start of October.
Steelers Historic Bad Night vs. Tucker Kraft
Kraft broke out with 50 catches, 707 receiving yards and seven touchdowns last year. So his production against the Steelers defense didn’t come out of nowhere.
Having said that, it was an historically bad night in pass coverage against the tight end. Kraft had more yards after the catch than any other tight end in the NFL since 2018 against the Steelers on Sunday.
Kraft was also the first tight end to eclipse the 140 receiving yards mark and score twice versus the Steelers since Jackie Smith did that in 1963.
Tucker Kraft is the first TE to post 140+ yards and 2 TDs against the #Steelers since Hall of Famer Jackie Smith in 1963.
A historic night against Pittsburgh.
It also wasn’t like the Steelers were doing a good job covering all the other Packers pass-catchers besides Kraft. At one point during the second half, Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love completed 20 consecutive passes.
It’s unknown where that stands all time in Packers history. But Brett Favre only had one consecutive passes streak of 20 in his career, and Aaron Rodgers never completed 20 passes in a row with Green Bay.
The Steelers have a lot to fix on defense. Covering opposing tight ends, though, appears to be one of the biggest things after Sunday.
Browns Send Message on ‘Frustrated’ Myles Garrett After Outburst
As the Browns followed up a promising effort against the Dolphins in Week 7 with an overall disaster in Week 8 against the Patriots, it was clear that Cleveland’s old pal–frustration–had returned with a vengeance. For star edge rusher Myles Garrett, in the midst of a career day with five sacks of budding MVP candidate Drake Maye, the frustration was especially poignant.
Garrett wants to win, badly. At 30 years old and in his ninth season, he has just three games of playoff experience behind him, playing for an organization that has struggled at just about every level. It was only nine months ago that Garrett demanded a trade, seeking a place where he could compete for a Super Bowl. The Browns gave him a whopping new $160 million contract, persuading him to stay.
But the now 2-6 reality of this team has settled in again, and in the final two minutes of Sunday’s loss, Garrett was seen throwing his helmet in frustration and later kneeling by himself on the sideline, away from the rest of the team.
Browns Are ‘All Frustrated’
The outburst was not lost on Browns fans, observers and even coaches. Head coach Kevin Stefasnki was asked about Garrett’s helmet-toss on Monday. His message: It’s time for leaders to show “resolve.”
“We’re all frustrated,” Stefanski said. “Obviously, in those moments, we want to make sure it doesn’t get the best of us. But with that frustration comes a resolve, and I know Myles and I know him as a leader, I know the leaders in this football team will show that mental, will show that resolve.”
Myles Garrett Wanted to be on the Field
Garrett had conceded he was frustrated in that moment. It’s obvious that the losing is wearing on him, though in the end, the decision to return to the Browns and take the major contract was his. Because of their cap and quarterback situation, the Browns are stuck in their mediocrity, and Garrett is bearing that burden.
Garrett indicated that he did not like being on the bench down the stretch, even though the game was out of reach.
“Frustrated,” he said. “I want to win. No matter how much time is on the clock, they got their starters in, there’s a chance we can win, I want to be a part of that. I don’t care how dire the situation looks. I want to try to make something happen, so I hate coming out in a situation, I hate that kind of inevitability. And not being able to do anything about it.”
Browns, Myles Garrett Heading Into Bye Week–And NFL Trade Deadline
Stefanski said the hope is that the Browns can go into the coming week–their bye week–and regroup, with the promise of a better run in the second half of the season. The NFL’s trade deadline is next Tuesday, and it’s not clear whether Cleveland will move any of its players. Certainly, they’re not dealing Garrett.
Yes, there is frustration at 2-6. But he wants players to direct that frustration to improvement.
“I mean, you are what your record says you are, so we got to own it – that’s where we are,” he said. “But we’re excited about the challenge in front of us. Again, guys will take a breath this week, but then you got nine games coming up, five of them at our place. …
“I think it’s really so specific to all of us. We know we have a job to do – the fun in this business is winning, so, there’s the frustration that comes with losing a game, is very real. But how you channel that and how you, like you said, use it as fuel moving forward, I think is really important.”
