'It Stings!' Ravens LB Patrick Queen Wanted to 'Send Steelers Home'

The Baltimore Ravens have secured the top seed in the AFC, but they could have eliminated their rival Pittsburgh Steelers from playoff contention on Saturday.

The Baltimore Ravens have secured the No. 1 seed in the AFC, but they had a chance to keep the Pittsburgh Steelers out of the playoffs on Saturday, a goal they missed in a 17-10 home loss.

It's more important that some key Ravens playmakers were able to find some rest in Week 18, but it would have been a nice conclusion to the regular season had Baltimore been able to assure that their rivals would not be in the postseason. Now, the Steelers are still alive entering the final Sunday before the playoffs.

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“We had a chance to send them home, now they have a chance to go to the playoffs,” Ravens linebacker Patrick Queen said. “It stings a little bit ... but we have a lot of pages in our book that set us up pretty good. Nobody’s hanging their head or anything. If we see those guys again, we’ll be ready.”

Baltimore had bigger fish to fry than simply taking down the Steelers in Week 18. The Ravens needed to ensure that they were as healthy as possible entering the playoffs, and with a first-round bye already secured, there was no reason to risk playing the starters in Saturday's rain-drenched game.

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Still, rivalries run deep in the NFL, so a win on Saturday would have been a nice emotional boost prior to the postseason in Baltimore. If given the choice, however, the Ravens will definitely take a Super Bowl run over an otherwise-meaningless game in Week 18.