Mason Rudolph stood on the sidelines most of the season as the Pittsburgh Steelers endured poor quarterback play that will likely cost them a trip to the playoffs.
As the starting quarterback the past two weeks, Rudolph has shown he might have been the answer the entire time.
All he did Sunday was lead the Steelers to their second straight victory,. defeating the Seattle Seahawks 30-23. Pittsburgh’s playoff odds only improved to 17 percent with one week to go, but Rudolph’s past two games were enough to make Steelers fans wonder what could have been if Rudolph had been playing quarterback most of the season.
Rudolph waited his turn as the third-string quarterback behind Kenny Pickett and Mitchell Trubisky, and when given the chance, the third-stringer has looked like the best QB on the roster.
The six-year pro, who was 18-of-24 passing for 274 yards Sunday, has completed 68.6 percent of his passes and has yet to turn the ball over in his two victorious starts.
And Steelers fans are ready to hand Rudolph the keys to the team.
Mason Rudolph has had an immediate impact
The Steelers, the fifth-lowest scoring team in the league (17.1), hadn’t scored as many as 30 points in a game all season until Rudolph’s start a week ago against Cincinnati, and now they’ve scored at least 30 the past two weeks.
The Steelers’ offense, ranked 26th in the NFL in total offense, has averaged 433 yards the past two weeks, and Sunday’s total (468) was their season high.
The win over Seattle also marked the first time since Week 5 of 2021 that the Steelers had a 100-yard rusher (Najee Harris with 122) and 100-yard receiver (George Pickens with 131) in the same game.
In fact, Pickens over the past two weeks has had back-to-back 100-yard games and has racked up 226 receiving yards on 11 receptions with two touchdowns, both scored last week.
Think it’s just a coincidence that the Steelers’ peak production is coming with Mason Rudolph at quarterback? Check out this throw big-league throw from Rudolph to Pickens, one of the highlight-reel plays of Week 17.
Good quarterbacks are able to maximize the talents of their receivers, and that’s happened over the past two weeks with Rudolph throwing to Pickens, a ultra-talented second-year player who’s come under fire this season for his lack of effort, which he claimed was all about injury prevention.
Related: 2023 NFL offense rankings
Mason Rudolph is the Steelers’ best QB option
Mason Rudolph, drafted in the third round in 2018, has faced his share of criticism for inconsistent play that dates back to 2019, when he was also involved in an incident with Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett, who infamously ripped off Rudolph’s helmet and swung it at him.
Although he started eight games in 2019, Rudolph had only started two more games since then and didn’t appear in a single game in 2022. This season, he’s been stuck at third on the depth chart while the Steelers went with Pickett, drafted in the first round in 2022, and Trubisky, the former No. 2 overall pick in 2017.
But Pickett, who started the first 12 games, injured his ankle in a Week 13 loss to Arizona and has yet to return. Trubisky started the next two games, which led to two losses, before head coach Mike Tomlin finally responded to the chants from the Steelers fans and finally gave Rudolph his opportunity.
How has Rudolph compared to Pickett? Pickett’s best QB rating in a game was 108.5 in Week 3 against Las Vegas, and beyond that he has surpassed a 90.0 rating only twice. Rudolph’s QB rating in his starts was 124.0 and 112.2, respectively, against Cincinnati and Seattle.
Pickett has thrown for more than 250 yards in one game. Rudolph has done that twice in two starts.
Pickett was inactive for Sunday’s game, but it’s possible he could be activated for the Steelers’ Week 18 finale against the AFC’s best team, the Baltimore Ravens.
Regardless, Mason Rudolph has earned the right to start one more week and has proven he gives the Steelers the best chance to win.