Ravens’ linebackers got schooled in Week 4, what’s next?

The Baltimore Ravens defense broke down in Week 4’s loss to the Buffalo Bills, and one unit had a particularly pitiful showing.

Baltimore’s inside linebacker corps, which includes starters Patrick Queen and Josh Bynes, got completely outmatched by Buffalo, sending a troubling signal that the group still hasn’t found its footing through four weeks of the season.

It was the Bills’ linebacker duo, instead, that enjoyed a far more impressive game, with Matt Milano and Tremaine Edmunds playing at a Pro Bowl level against the Ravens’ dynamic offense.

Milano and Edmunds finished with a combined 22 tackles, two stops for loss, and a quarterback hit. Milano made a huge open-field tackle on Lamar Jackson to halt the Ravens’ momentum in the fourth quarter; he also stopped J.K. Dobbins on the Bills’ goal line in a game-changing play that ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky describes below:

Ravens’ inside linebackers could learn a thing or two from Buffalo’s defense

Compare those two to Queen and Bynes, who recorded seven combined tackles, one tackle for loss, one pass defended, and three quarterback hits.

Queen had been struggling with lapses in coverage ever since he was drafted in 2020, and Sunday was no exception. The third-year linebacker flailed against the run, with the most salient example being his poor judgment and positioning on Josh Allen’s third-quarter touchdown run.

He also had an interception gifted into his lap that he let bounce off his chest — had Queen picked off Allen, the Ravens could have potentially entered the second half of the game with a 17-point lead rather than a 10-point one.

The veteran Josh Bynes was adequate in coverage and remains a stabilizing force in the linebacker corps; however, his ceiling is limited.

Baltimore needs to see more from Queen — more consistency, more big plays, more tactical awareness — as the team continues to train its next generation of young linebackers.

Milano’s or Edmund’s elite level of play should be an achievable goal for a promising breakout star like Queen, yet three years into his career, he’s falling well short of expectations.

With Queen running out of chances in Baltimore, we wouldn’t be surprised if the Ravens look elsewhere for inside linebacker depth before the trade deadline.