The Pittsburgh Steelers have rallied from 7-7 to 9-7 with two commanding wins, games in which the offense has put up at least points despite not doing so all season. The spike in offensive productivity has come with Mason Rudolph, who previously hasn’t started a game since 2021, at quarterback. Rudolph has thrown for 564 yards over the last two games, and his work in turning Pittsburgh’s season around has led Peter Schrager to make the case for Rudolph to win Comeback Player of The Year.
“Hear me out. We’ve done a month of ‘Can Joe Flacco be the Comeback Player of the Year despite only playing five weeks?’ Can Mason Rudolph be the Comeback Player of the Year despite only playing three weeks? Mason Rudolph was benched for the aforementioned Duck Hodges midway through a game. Duck Hodges replaced Mason Rudolph years ago on the same team. And he’s hung around, signed contracts, came back, and was like ‘I’ll be a third-string,'” Schrager said on Good Morning Football today. “And there’s another guy in front of him, [Mitch] Trubisky who’s still there, who they brought in last year. This is a great story.”
Schrager also said it helps that Rudolph’s chosen to stay with Pittsburgh because he’s a known commodity in the locker room and with Pittsburgh. As far as Rudolph’s Comeback Player of the Year case goes, Bills safety Damar Hamlin has been the favorite all season after returning to the field following a serious cardiac issue he suffered in a game last season, and Flacco has built more of a resume with more starts and a stretch of 300-plus yard passing performances.
But it is notable that Flacco started games just last season with the New York Jets. Rudolph hadn’t started since 2021, and he wasn’t a guy who was highly regarded at all during his days replacing an injured Ben Roethlisberger that’s. That’s why Pittsburgh went out and signed Trubisky last year while also drafting Kenny Pickett. There wasn’t much thought or hope that Rudolph would turn into anything, but his performance under the center the last two weeks has been the best we’ve seen out of a Steelers quarterback in years.
Schrager’s right that it’s a great story, but it also hasn’t met its conclusion. This weekend, Pittsburgh needs to take care of business against the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday and then get some help to make the playoffs. There’s also a scenario where the Steelers can lose and make the playoffs, but that’s just not as fun. But the point is, the rest of Rudolph’s story is still unwritten. While he likely won’t be the Comeback Player of the Year, team success matters a lot more, and if Rudolph can lead the Steelers to some success in the playoffs, he’s going to be a hero in Pittsburgh. That seemed unfathomable just weeks ago.
