A 26–7 loss to the Buffalo Bills dropped the Pittsburgh Steelers to 6–6, but the fallout hit even harder. A former defensive lineman just called out the long-standing systemic issues in Mike Tomlin’s defense. The debate exploded after Pittsburgh’s blowout loss, and former Steelers defensive tackle Breiden Fehoko made his concerns public.

Fehoko conceded Queen has inconsistent moments, but he’s being unfairly made the scapegoat for deeper problems.

”I’ll say this strictly cause Pat gets a ton of heat. Is PQ my boy? Yeah. Could he play better? 100% he’ll agree with that too. I promise you PQ isn’t the problem. This sh-t deeper than people at home know. It ain’t just play calls/scheme. I won’t get into that tho. I got respect for people in that building. However, all those linebackers you mentioned played in a different day and age of football,” he posted on X.

That led to his thesis: the Steelers are running the same defensive structure that linebackers like James Farrior, Lawrence Timmons, Ryan Shazier, and, for that matter, Jack Lambert played in decades ago. Fehoko contended that the modern game has dramatically changed, but Pittsburgh is still hanging its hat on old principles and relying on today’s athletes to do the same things in a system built for another era.

To illustrate the problem, Fehoko pointed to the unit’s reliance on splash plays over modern adaptability.

”This is the problem when you live in a world of banking on a TJ Watt Strip sack to save the day,” he said, pointing out that the scheme often depends upon singular-player heroics, not cohesive and structural solutions. That weakness was on full display against the Bills. Pittsburgh allowed 249 rushing yards, the most in the history of Acrisure Stadium, and was outmatched at every level.

His point was, the root issues start at the very foundational philosophy of the defense, not in either the execution or in effort. And given the Steelers lead the NFL in defensive spending, over $160 million committed, this investment performance disconnect has become impossible to ignore.

He flipped the narrative on its head by framing Patrick Queen as the victim of scheme limitations, and not the cause. He suggested that the Steelers are asking their linebackers to recreate responsibilities from the early 2000s despite knowing offenses today stretch the field horizontally, target mismatches, and attack space in different ways. As he sees it, Pittsburgh’s outdated structure puts players like Queen in losing situations before the ball is ever snapped.

Patrick Queen reacts to criticism

Former Steelers lineman Trai Essex got the debate hot when he slammed Queen’s outing during Sunday’s loss, saying the linebacker wasn’t near the standard set by Farrior, Timmons, or Shazier. Essex called the signing of Queen a miss and suggested the fact that the Ravens letting him walk should have been a warning.

Queen did not leave the remarks without a response.

“Never was a pro bowler or all pro, but get on here yappin. Got carried your whole career back n forth from the bench stfu!” he shot back, basically pushing back against the comments by Essex.

A fan suggested he shouldn’t respond, to which Queen pointed to his recent improvement: “Oh right cause only fans are allowed to tweet got it! Haven’t missed a tackle in 3 games and it’s part of the game your favorite players off all time missed them too.”

Though Queen had issues with tackling earlier in the season, he has been steadily improving. Tomlin’s declaration in the preseason that the defense could do “historic things” was painfully misplaced. With stars such as T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith on their roster, the Steelers rank in the league’s bottom third in total defense, allowing roughly 24.1 points per game. A shocking fall for a franchise built on defensive identity.

The more pressing question is what changes await in 2026. With Queen’s contract structure offering Pittsburgh an easy out, his future could be shaped by an offseason overhaul that seems increasingly inevitable.