In his first start since 2021, QB Mason Rudolph led the Pittsburgh Steelers to a win against the Cincinnati Bengals to keep the team’s playoff chances alive. He not only came away with a win but was a major reason why the Steelers won the game. He attempted 27 passes, completing 17 of them for 290 yards and two touchdowns. He was sacked just one time and with zero interceptions avoided any major mistakes.
One of the things he did really well was convert on third down. Pro Football Focus page posted this stat on X Tuesday morning.
Rudolph completed seven of his 10 pass attempts on third down for 140 yards, one touchdown, and a near-perfect 145.8 passer rating. Beyond his efforts with his arm on third down, he had one run that earned him a lot of goodwill with the fan base. In the second quarter, on 3rd and 6 from the Bengals’ 10-yard line, Rudolph scrambled for 7 yards. Instead of sliding to protect himself, he lowered his shoulder to get the necessary yards to convert. The Steelers would have likely had to settle for a field goal if not for his efforts. Instead, RB Najee Harris punched it in for a touchdown the next play to put them up 21-0.
Of his seven completions on third down, four led to a fresh set of downs, including one on 3rd and 10 and another on 3rd and 15. The latter of those two was the deep shot to WR George Pickens along the left sideline where he tapped both feet down to secure the catch. Overall, the team went 50 percent on third down with seven conversions on 14 attempts. The Steelers also did a great job of moving the chains on first or second down to not get themselves into third-down scenarios.
Rudolph’s performance will make for a difficult decision this week by head coach Mike Tomlin and the Steelers regarding who will start at quarterback Sunday in Seattle. Tomlin is set to speak to the media at noon eastern time Tuesday, and while he will likely be non-committal on whether Rudolph will get another start — Kenny Pickett is seemingly ready to return from an ankle injury this early in the week — there might be some worthwhile updates as this quarterback controversy develops.
