Quietly and without credit, QB Mason Rudolph guiding Steelers to wins
He’s the interim starting quarterback for a team that hasn’t lost a game in more than a month. Individually, he has lost only one game he has started and finished in his career — and that was seven weeks ago.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are on a four-game winning streak, with three of those wins coming at Heinz Field over the past 14 days. Mason Rudolph has been the starting quarterback for each of them.
Is it time to give some credit to the second-year field general?
“I think a lot of times we all look at the quarterback because it’s everyone looks at the quarterback. He’s the first guy. He’s the head dude. He’s the captain,” receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster said. “And I think Mason has handled it very, very well.”
Mason Rudolph finds James Washington for 6️⃣ and we are tied❗️
Only 31% of spread tickets are on Steelers (+4.5) making them the second least popular public side today.
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Rudolph hasn’t been perfect by any means. And he hasn’t definitively proven he has a future as a full-time starter in the NFL.
But at the midway point of his 14-week audition as the Steelers’ starter following Ben Roethlisberger’s elbow surgery, Rudolph hasn’t proven he is not an NFL starting quarterback, either.
“It’s encouraging to know that we are winning games (while) we’re still leaving points on the field and making mistakes,” Rudolph said after the Steelers’ 17-12 win against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. “We are all perfectionists. That’s the way we operate. And we understand there are learning opportunities week to week.”
The game featured six turnovers, 23 penalties, a safety and 17 punts. #WinningUgly#LARvsPIT https://t.co/jqfpRUdbZi
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The 24-year-old Rudolph still is learning, but it’s a much better feeling to do it while winning than it would be developing while leading a bad team.
Rudolph’s stat line is good but not great: 131 for 203 (65%), 1,330 yards, 10 touchdowns, four interceptions, 6.5 yards per attempt, 91.4 passer rating. During the 24 quarters he has played (the equivalent of six games), the Steelers have averaged 23.8 points per four quarters.
With the exception of the poor yards per attempt, those numbers are, at least, league average. The point production is above average (albeit, the Steelers’ defense is padding that total).
Still, with the Steelers having moved from 1-4 and into playoff positioning by winning four in a row (Devlin Hodges started the first game of the winning streak), the credit given to the starting quarterback seemingly has fallen on a scale between “very little” and “the team is overcoming its quarterback.”
“It’s one of those things where the defense is playing really well,” guard David DeCastro said. “I don’t think (Rudolph) is going to be satisfied just getting wins. He’s going to be hard on himself. He comes in every day and demands and expects higher of himself, which is great. It’s just his first year just getting started, so he’s only going to get better.”
The offense must get better if the Steelers are going to keep winning. The four-game winning streak has featured just six offensive touchdowns, just four led by Rudolph in the past three games.
Kevin Gorman's Take 5: Defense the catalyst as Steelers beat Rams to reach a winning record
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Sunday’s performance was particularly dreadful, featuring nine scoreless drives that lasted four plays or fewer. But in what perhaps is the best compliment to the young quarterback, his teammates seem to be gravitating toward him.
Receiver Diontae Johnson said Rudolph “always” is in control of the huddle. Receiver James Washington said, “He’s a great guy and a good quarterback.” Smith-Schuster: “He’s just an unbelievable guy and good teammate.”
“He’s shaping himself into a leader,” running back Trey Edmunds said. “He’s gaining the respect from everybody, and everyone trusts him no matter what happens.
“We are with him every step of the way.”
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Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
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