The Pittsburgh Steelers were able to keep their 2023 season alive with a dominant victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. It was a 34-11 shellacking, as Pittsburgh improved to 8-7 on the season to stay alive in the Wild Card race in the AFC.
The 34 points scored are the most the team has had since the 2021 season as moving the ball and putting points on the board has been a struggle for the offense this season. That is what makes the performance by third-string quarterback Mason Rudolph all the more impressive.
Rudolph’s one series in relief of Mitchell Trubisky in Week 15 was his first game action since the 2021 season. Given Trubisky’s struggles, the Steelers opted to turn to Rudolph as their starter against the Bengals and he responded with a huge game.
NFL News & Rumors: Mike Tomlin, Kenny Pickett, Mason Rudolph, Pittsburgh Steelers Updates
The 2019 third-round pick completed 17-of-27 passes for 290 yards and two touchdowns. That is the most yardage by a Steelers quarterback this season, as Rudolph oversaw an offense that had three 40+ yard plays. All of those players came courtesy of George Pickens, who was making big plays all game.
Now, the Steelers have a decision to make when it comes to the quarterback position in Week 17. Preparing to head on the road to face the Seattle Seahawks, Rudolph is in line to be the starter once again.
“We’re in the same position with Kenny as we were last week,” Tomlin said Tuesday. “We’ll give him a few reps and see where that leads us. … Obviously we have a great deal more comfort because of what we’ve seen in-stadium for Mason Rudolph and that helps us, but we still really are in the same posture. He’s got the ball to start the week, and we’ll see where Kenny is from a mobility perspective and then kind of go from there and playing day by day based on the things that we see from that perspective.”
Kenny Pickett, the team’s starter, suffered an ankle injury in Week 13 against the Arizona Cardinals. He underwent TightRope ankle surgery and returned to practice in a limited capacity last week.
NFL News & Rumors: Mike Tomlin, Kenny Pickett, Mason Rudolph, Pittsburgh Steelers Updates
That looks like it will be the case again this week, as head coach Mike Tomlin has not announced Pickett as out yet. They want to see how he looks during practice before making a final decision about his status.
Rudolph’s performance against the Bengals at least provides the team with confidence that he can get the job done. Had he bombed, similarly to Trubisky, the Steelers likely would have pushed Pickett’s rehab a little harder. But, putting together the best passing performance of the season in Pittsburgh has afforded the team some time to allow Pickett to get to 100 percent.
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