Last Saturday, the glass slipper fit perfectly on Mason Rudolph, the veteran quarterback transforming into Pittsburgh Steelers fans’ version of Cinderella.
He was the belle of the ball, throwing for 290 yards and two touchdowns while leading the Steelers to a 34-11 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. But has the clock already struck midnight for the Oklahoma State product? Pro Football Focus’ Sam Monson certainly thinks so.
“It probably won’t even last this week,” said Monson on the PFF NFL Week 17 Preview Show. “I suspect Mason Rudolph turns back into a pumpkin. It was a Christmas miracle and now it’s not Christmas anymore.”
Bah, humbug!
Mike Tomlin told reporters early Friday afternoon that Rudolph will start Sunday when the Steelers visit the Seattle Seahawks. While he may not agree with the assessment, quarterback Kenny Pickett is still dealing with the effects of his high ankle sprain that necessitated surgery.
Rudolph will get another chance to wow Steelers fans, but this time in a much more difficult environment.
In his first start, Rudolph played in Acrisure Stadium in front of a home crowd. Now he will try to pull off an encore performance in perhaps the most difficult opposing venue in the NFL with the 12th man in Seattle.
Add that the Seahawks are battling for their playoff lives in the NFC and are fresh off of two wins and things don’t look great for the quarterback who saved Christmas.
Monson and his co-host Steve Palazzolo did ponder if Rudolph could have a career similar to that of Seattle QB Geno Smith.
“There is no reason he can’t be the next Geno, it’s just that it probably won’t happen,” Monson said. “Generally speaking, one-of-a-kind historical outliers don’t repeat again a year or two later.”
He and Palazzolo went down the list of quarterbacks who did have a career resurgence with none quite equaling what Smith has done. Does that mean it’s impossible for Rudolph to recapture the magic? No, but as they said, history says it’s unlikely.
Rudolph will get another chance to state his case as the team’s starting quarterback for the remainder of the season in Seattle. But if he does turn back into a pumpkin, the team will need to continue to search for the one who fits into the glass slipper.
