Tim Benz: All 3 Steelers QBs deserve praise. And Mason Rudolph deserves a break

It’s not like the boos were raining down from Acrisure Stadium when Mason Rudolph was introduced as the second quarterback during the Steelers preseason opener Saturday night.

It was more of a grumbling murmur. A disgruntled undercurrent.

Whatever you wanted to call it, it got louder when Rudolph took his first snap and immediately fumbled, thanks to a blindside strip sack by Boye Mafe.

As if it was his fault or something. Mafe barreled around Dan Moore Jr. and got a piece of Rudolph’s throwing arm as he was starting his motion.

Rudolph recovered the ball, though, and maintained possession. Two plays later, he hit blossoming wide receiver George Pickens for a touchdown.

.@Rudolph2Mason ➡️ PICKHIMS

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— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) August 13, 2022

“He kept a lot of space on the sideline for the ball to come over his shoulder,” Rudolph said of Pickens. “It was a great catch.”

No one was booing then. Although, as good as the throw may have been, it felt like everyone was cheering the catch.

I get it. Pickens is Pittsburgh’s shiny new toy. He’s Christmas in August. Meanwhile, everyone seems to want to return Rudolph for store credit.

Or at least a sixth-round draft choice from a team that needs a backup QB.

The fanbase has seen Rudolph before and is underwhelmed. It’s not like the franchise has done anything to dissuade that narrative either.

In his first offseason to perhaps graduate from being Ben Roethlisberger’s backup, the team fattened up the depth chart by signing Mitch Trubisky and drafting two other quarterbacks—Kenny Pickett and Chris Oladokun.

More on the Steelers preseason opener:

• Steelers win preseason opener on Kenny Pickett's TD pass with 3 seconds left
• Steelers notes: T.J. Watt regaining a piece of team captaincy?

Then, despite having the best training camp of the quarterbacks, Rudolph still had to cede second-team reps to Pickett at times.

It’s not like the guy has gotten a lot of breaks lately. So maybe we should give him one now. Or at least not blame him for failing to have a second set of eyeballs on the back of his helmet when he is getting hit from the blindside.

“I turned a little bit early. He got my edge. But (Rudolph) bailed me out. And two plays later threw a touchdown,” Moore said.

By contrast, Trubisky got a warm reception as he stepped on the field as the team’s starter. It got even warmer when he capped that opening drive by tossing a touchdown to a wide-open Gunner Olszewski.

THE GUNNER‼️ @GunnerOlszewski

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— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) August 13, 2022

To open the third quarter, Pickett hit Jace Sternberger on a short rollout on his first passing attempt. Like Rudolph and Trubisky, his first drive resulted in a touchdown as Jaylen Warren pulled off the preseason version of Antonio Brown’s “Immaculate Extension.”

First NFL TDs for @Nunless2 + @kennypickett10‼️

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— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) August 14, 2022

“Kenny! Kenny! Kenny!” chants erupted during that drive. They should. He’s a first-round pick who played his college games on that very same grass.

I’m not arguing that anyone should hold back their enthusiasm for Pickett or Trubisky. Based on how those two struggled in Latrobe, every Steelers fan should be elated at how they performed en route to the 32-25 victory. Pickett and Trubisky were a combined 17 of 22 for 158 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

I’m just saying the audible groans for Rudolph were a little much, especially considering that at every turn, Rudolph has publicly handled his situation as diplomatically as anyone could expect.

“I’m not going to try to get into the …” Rudolph said, cutting himself off after a question about the crowd response, making a dismissive wave with his hand. “We all did a good job. We put points on the board, and we came away with the win, and that’s the most important thing. Even in a preseason game, that’s important to see.”

Rudolph also led a 17-play, 81-yard field goal drive that ate up eight minutes, 32 seconds before stalling in the red zone. Along the way, the Seahawks dropped what should’ve been an interception, and Rudolph tried to thread another dangerous pass in the red zone that fell incomplete.

So, he wasn’t perfect. Of course, Pickett was for his first 10 passes. And he led a fourth-quarter touchdown drive to break a 25-25 tie to win the game.

That will no doubt advance the drumbeat to promote Pickett to at least the second team.

“I just wanted to stay in rhythm. Complete passes. Move the chains. That was the goal coming in. Just let my abilities take over for me and play fast. That’s all I was focused on doing,” Pickett said.

Leave it to Rudolph to have a 100.1 passer rating to open the preseason and have it somehow be the lowest of the three QBs who played Saturday night. Pickett’s was 132.6. Trubisky’s was 126.8.

Maybe it’s the Seahawks defensive coaching staff that should be groaning more than anyone else when they look at the game film.

“That’s a credit to how we practice,” Olszewski said of the Steelers defense in Latrobe. “Practice is hard. The game is easy. Our whole offense as a unit did that tonight.”

Led by all three quarterbacks.

Yes, all … three. Even Rudolph.

Trubisky is the new free agent. Pickett is the new draft choice. But maybe Rudolph is becoming a newer and more improved version of himself.

That’s allowed to be applauded, too. Or at least not booed.