Patrick Queen, one of the Steelers’ top offseason acquisitions from the Baltimore Ravens, has been a dominant force this season. But there is a fine line between physical play and league violations. During the Week 6 fixture against the Cleveland Browns, Queen made an illegal contact with quarterback Dillon Gabriel. The passing play drew an immediate flag for unnecessary roughness.

Listed under “A hit on a quarterback – blow to the head/neck,” Patrick Queen has been fined $23,186 by the NFL. The incident occurred with 1:08 left in the first quarter. Queen slammed right into Gabriel just moments after he slung the ball.

This was the second time that Queen was fined, and his total fine is now $40,575 for the two hits. Adding up from a similar contact against the Seattle Seahawks’ Sam Darnold in Week 2, for which he was fined $17,389. This also highlights the league’s continued emphasis on protecting quarterbacks from high-impact contact.

In Week 6, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense dominated throughout the game and restricted the Browns to just 9 points. But these fines will not do any good to HC Mike Tomlin’s defense, which is already struggling this season.

Even during the Browns’ game, while sacks helped, the defense lacked execution and relied solely on rush pressure to generate stops.

Steelers’ defensive struggles persist

In Week 1 of the 2025 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers defense gave up 32 points and 394 total yards, and in Week 2, they gave up 31 points and 395 yards. They finished those first few weeks tied for 27th in rushing yards allowed (139.3), 26th in passing yards allowed (246.7), and 29th in total yards allowed (399.7 per game).

For a defense that spent over $163 million, the Browns have conceded 30-plus points three times this season. They performed significantly better in other groupings, demonstrating schematic variability, although their 3-3-5 alignment had the fourth-worst success rate against the pass at 58%. Due to the defense’s shortcomings, the offense must score more quickly, putting more emphasis on game planning and tempo. In trust-down circumstances, late-game breakdowns, like the one against the Cincinnati Bengals, undermine certainty.

The Bengals gained 470 offensive yards in total, the most they have allowed in the last three seasons. Chase Brown, a rookie running back for the Bengals, ran for 108 yards during the game. Veteran Cam Heyward notably criticized the Steelers’ rush-defense breakdown, saying the defensive line was unable to control the line of scrimmage.

The Steelers run the risk of being carried by their offense rather than backed by a consistently strong defensive squad until fundamental defensive problems are resolved.