For the first time in three games the Pittsburgh Steelers did not score 30 points or more. In fact, they scored about half that in their 17-10 win over the Ravens in Baltimore. Therefore it must be safe to assume that Mason Rudolph, making his third consecutive start, must have come back down to Earth right? Well, not so much.
Rudolph went 18 of 20 for 152 yards and a touchdown. He had to deal with torrential downpours throughout the game and a challenging breeze at times to boot. This was a classic throwback, weather-impacted game that saw the ball on the turf a lot. Rudolph himself was responsible for a couple of those but has yet to turn the ball over in three straight games.
If the season does in fact come to an end for the Steelers by late Sunday night, Mike Tomlin and the organization will face some tough questions about the most difficult and most important position on the field. With Mitchell Trubisky likely to be cut and Kenny Pickett on his rookie contract, the first question will be whether they choose to re-sign Rudolph and for how much. We must also consider that Rudolph may desire to go elsewhere and try his luck there. My understanding is that he would prefer to stay in Pittsburgh but money (and opportunity) talks as they say.
If Rudolph does return, does Tomlin host an open competition or does he choose to go with either Rudolph or Pickett as his starter? There are several factors the team has to keep in mind regarding Rudolph’s run of wins. The game in Baltimore was played in a quagmire. The Ravens played a lot of back-up players. Cincinnati’s defense and Seattle’s defense both rank in the bottom half of the NFL. One could therefore suggest that Rudolph has had a fairly forgiving road to where he is now and there have definitely been more ups than downs.
What cannot be argued is the massive statistical advantage Rudolph has over Pickett. He’s completing 68.5% of his passes to Pickett’s 62% and he’s thrown for 500 yards plus. Consider that in 12 games Pickett is barely over 2,000 yards. While less objective, I also find it hard to argue with the fact that the offense is just plain better under Rudolph.
There’s no doubt that some of Rudy’s old habits came back to haunt him a bit against the Ravens. There were moments when his lack of pocket presence cost him and there were also a few times when he just didn’t get the ball out soon enough. To his credit, he took full responsibility for both of those issues in his postgame interview.
We all know that the Steelers aren’t going to just toss Pickett, their former first round pick, to the side. He deserves an opportunity to work with a different coordinator (should the Steelers go in that direction) and should be given the opportunity to prove he’s worthy of his draft status. Mike Tomlin will no doubt continue to call Pickett the team’s “starting Quarterback” for the foreseeable future but I can only say that of this writing. What happens in the next 12 hours could change that.
I’m of the opinion that right now, the Steelers don’t have a franchise quarterback but Mason Rudolph is a heck of a lot closer to being one than is Kenny Pickett right now. The stats and the success bear that out.
