One time might be a coincidence, but two times is a pattern. That is exactly the way things look for the Pittsburgh Steelers and their quarterback situation right now. Following a win over the Seattle Seahawks on the road in a hostile environment, QB Mason Rudolph is going to get a lot of praise this week—he deserves it. The Steelers were in the midst of a three-game losing streak and their season was in a tailspin until Rudolph took over and put up two of the best quarterback performances of the season for the team.
Against the Seahawks, Rudolph completed 18-of-24 passes for 274 yards and a 112.2 passer rating. That is back-to-back games with over 100 passer rating. He didn’t have any touchdown passes this time, but that is mostly because the running game did the heavy lifting. Still, Rudolph made some key plays and created splash with five explosive passing plays of 20 yards or more. He also chipped in as a runner with the Steelers using him on short-yardage situations to execute the quarterback sneak. Any way you look at the offense, it has been better since Rudolph took over as the starter.
Former Steelers DL Chris Hoke joined Bob Pompeani on the KDKA Nightly Sports Call and discussed what needs to happen going into the 2024 season at quarterback.
“Open competition means open competition,” Hoke said. “Last year’s open competition was closed. It was no question that Kenny Pickett was going to be the starting quarterback. He’s shown today who the better quarterback is – actually the last two weeks – with the production he’s put out there in scoring and yardage. If Mason’s going to stick around, you have to give him an opportunity to truly compete.”
“You cannot just hand the keys back to Kenny. You have to make Kenny earn it, and by earning it against No. 1 players. In the preseason we talked about how exciting he was and his progression, but that was against backups primarily and so you’ve got to see him produce against starters and being able to throw the ball downfield because that completely opens up your offense.”
The bulk of a quarterback competition occurs in training camp and in the preseason. Looking at preseason play, it was pretty clear that Pickett earned the role. He participated in five drives and the offense scored a touchdown on all five of them. That being said, it wasn’t an “open competition.” Could the Steelers realistically enter the 2024 season in an open competition between Pickett and Rudolph? Ben Roethlisberger doesn’t think so, but the way things are trending, it seems possible. The Steelers are one win (and some outside help) away from the playoffs. With their level of play right now, it wouldn’t be out of the question to win a playoff game if they qualify. Should they do that and Rudolph is a reason why, then he would obviously have a chance to compete next offseason.
There is one major hurdle to get over in this scenario: Rudolph is not under contract next season. He could potentially price himself out of Pittsburgh, especially if there is uncertainty over who is the starter between him and Pickett.
“He has made himself a lot of money the last two weeks,” Hoke said. “He has proven the last two weeks that he is a legitimate NFL quarterback.”
