Steelers QB Mason Rudolph 'still a work in progress’

He has a passer rating over his past five starts (95.1) that is better than Ben Roethlisberger posted over his past five seasons (94.2). And while that likely is more of an indictment of the passer rating statistic than it is indicative that Mason Rudolph has cemented himself as better than a future Hall of Famer, it also can be interpreted as a sign that Rudolph’s development isn’t stalled.

After all, peep the passer rating of some of the league’s other quarterbacks who have less than two full season’s worth of experience: Daniel Jones (88.0), Josh Allen (81.6), Sam Darnold (74.5), Josh Rosen (52.0), Dwayne Haskins (42.2) and Gardner Minshew (92.8).

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That list leaves out notable division-rival exceptions Lamar Jackson — who’s an MVP candidate at 101.7 — and Baker Mayfield, whose 75.2 passer rating ranks 31st among quarterbacks who have attempted at least 100 passes this season and is dwarfed by Rudolph’s.

Mayfield and Rudolph were Big 12 “Bedlam” rivals who were part of one of the NFL’s most celebrated QB draft classes in recent memory, and their teams will face each other for the first time Thursday when Mayfield’s Cleveland Browns host Rudolph’s Pittsburgh Steelers.

After the Steelers lost his starting debut Sept. 22 at San Francisco, Rudolph has won each of the past four games he has started and finished.

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So, how does Rudolph evaluate himself? And how does the man most responsible for his development (offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Randy Fichtner) grade him out?

“Still a work in progress,” Rudolph said.

“Well,” Fichtner said, “it’s baby steps.”

If that sounds like tepid praise, that’s better than coach Mike Tomlin, who skillfully declined to say much of anything when asked what growth he’d seen out of Rudolph.

“To be honest with you, I hadn’t spent a lot of time thinking about it,” Tomlin said at his news conference Monday.

It’s no secret the Steelers have watered down their gameplan to protect Rudolph. But he also has gotten little help from his receivers in the way of dropped passes.

Fichtner complimented Rudolph’s effort during a 17-12 win against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.

“I think it was his best game of consistently making decisions and putting the ball in proper spots,” Fichtner said. “So that led to opportunities down the field and did a nice job with it. Put balls in places where we could catch them.”

Fichtner cited “a little momentum” Rudolph was developing as a quarterback, even in the relatively mundane tasks such as breaking the huddle.

“I think with every game, with every rep you get more comfortable,” Rudolph said. “Experience is the best teacher. That is where we are.”

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Rudolph’s intended air yards — how far downfield, on average, his pass attempts traveled — was 5.9 on Sunday, the fifth-smallest figure in the NFL during Week 10. His season yards per attempt (6.6) ranks 31st in the league.

And the offense he directs scored just 10 points Sunday. If the defense weren’t playing at such a high level and Rudolph had the exact same numbers, his season would be viewed much differently.

“I want to be aggressive. I am the first person to say that,” Rudolph said. “I play to win. In college, we had to score 50 points to win. In this situation, you have to be smart and take what (the opposing defense) gives you.”

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