It wasn’t long ago that the Pittsburgh Steelers looked like a shoo-in as a playoff team in the AFC. If they were unable to chase down the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North, they would at least be able to land a Wild Card spot as they had a 7-4 record.
Fast forward to the present day, and the Steelers are now on the outside looking in of the playoffs in the AFC. They are riding a three-game losing streak, which has come on the heels of the team turning in their best offensive performance of the season in Week 12 against the Cincinnati Bengals following the firing of offensive coordinator Matt Canada.
Since that point, they have lost to the Arizona Cardinals, New England Patriots and most recently the Indianapolis Colts. The Cardinals and Patriots both entered matchups with the Steelers having only two wins on the season but left those games with three.
NFL News & Rumors: Mike Tomlin, Mitchell Trubisky, Mason Rudolph, Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh Steelers Updates
Under center for 2.5 of those games was Mitchell Trubisky. He was replacing Kenny Pickett, who injured his ankle in the first half against the Cardinals and had to undergo surgery, which has kept him sidelined since.
Trubisky struggled to keep the offense on track with untimely turnovers and inaccurate passes. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has seen enough, as the team is making a switch at quarterback for Week 16.
While Tomlin didn’t officially name Mason Rudolph the starter, signs are pointing toward him being under center in a pivotal matchup against the Bengals. Rudolph was inserted into the game against the Colts after Trubisky threw his second interception of the game in the fourth quarter.
“It’s our intention as we sit here today to give Mason Rudolph an opportunity to start,” Tomlin said in his weekly news conference. “He’s a veteran guy. He’s a backup but he’s also a veteran guy. He’s been in our program a long time. He’s here for those reasons. We got a great deal of comfort with him.”
Rudolph was a third-round pick of the Steelers in the 2019 NFL Draft. He has started 10 games in his career, going 5-4-1 and made 18 appearances overall. The three passes he attempted against the Colts on Saturday night were his first since the 2021 season.
NFL News & Rumors: Mike Tomlin, Mitchell Trubisky, Mason Rudolph, Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh Steelers Updates
For his career, Rudolph has completed 61.5 percent of his passes for 2,369 yards with 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. The Steelers are hopeful that Rudolph can provide a spark which Trubisky has failed to do, as the team averaged only 240 yards of offense in his two starts.
Moving the ball and producing points has been a struggle for the Steelers all season, but they reached new lows with Trubisky at the helm. Pittsburgh is now putting their fading playoff hopes on Rudolph, although Tomlin didn’t officially rule out Pickett from the game.
“He had a really good rehab today,” Tomlin said of Pickett. “His availability is not out of question this week, but at the front part of the week our attention and emphasis will be on Mason Rudolph, and we’ll leave the door ajar and see how Kenny responds to the work that he did today and the limited work that we’re probably going to give him tomorrow.”
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