Madden Monday (early Christmas edition): 'I'd definitely start Mason Rudolph next game'

With Christmas on Monday, we decided to post this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast in the immediate aftermath of Saturday’s 34-11 Steelers win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Mark Madden of 105.9 The X and TribLive wants to make one thing abundantly clear. There is no controversy surrounding what the Steelers should do at quarterback next week in Seattle. In the wake of his inspiring performance over Cincy, Madden says put Mason Rudolph behind center regardless of whether Kenny Pickett is back to 100% health after his Week 13 ankle injury.

And don’t think twice about it.

“There seems to be, in some circles, the notion that if Kenny Pickett is ready, he should come back because it’s ‘his team.’ Mason Rudolph played better (Saturday) than Kenny Pickett has ever played in the NFL game,” Madden said. “The overall performance is better than anything Pickett has ever done. When he comes in and accomplishes what he did today, it makes you wonder where Pickett is really at — that he has played 24 games and mostly showed no progress. I’d definitely start Rudolph next game, and I would give consideration to resigning him and letting him and Pickett battle for the number one job next year, but make it legitimate this time, not like a couple of years back.”

According to Madden, the best attribute that Rudolph showed was the ability to hit receivers in on the move.

PICKENS GOES 86 YARDS TO THE HOUSE

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— NFL (@NFL) December 23, 2023

“I saw receivers led into YAC (yards after catch) perfectly — catching the ball in stride. And I go, ‘Wow, I almost forgot what it looks like when a Pittsburgh quarterback does that,’ ” Madden said. “If you lose in Seattle, and you want to play him the last game (in Baltimore), I get it. But you finally got stuff from the quarterback position we’ve not seen in forever. That YAC thing to me — leading the receiver — Rudolph had such great touch with that. I can think of four, five, six passes where they got extra yards because he knew what he was doing there.”

A big point that Madden stressed is that if Rudolph is benched and Pickett goes right back in, that will sap confidence in the locker room, particularly from Pickens (four catches, 195 yards, two touchdowns).

Related:

• Feats of Strength: 'It's a Festivus Miracle!' Steelers break 30 points in a win over Bengals
• Mason Rudolph glows in Steelers blowout vs. Bengals
• Mike Tomlin: ‘Too early’ to say if Mason Rudolph or Kenny Pickett will start next Steelers game

“If Pickett starts next week, you’re going to lose Pickens before the game starts,” Madden said. “He’s going to think ‘Wow, we finally found somebody that can get it to me deep, and he ain’t gonna play.’ ”

In the podcast, Madden and I also talked about Jaylen Warren’s highlight block, the defensive turnaround, and Pickens’ response to this week’s controversy.