Despite being left for dead just two weeks ago following a three-game losing streak, the Pittsburgh Steelers are suddenly back in the playoff race heading into Week 18. With a glut of four 9-7 teams in the AFC, the Steelers are going to need to get help to make the postseason, but on Good Morning Football this morning, both Peter Schrager and Kyle Brandt praised what Pittsburgh has done with Mason Rudolph, and both think they’re the most intriguing 9-7 team.
“I love what the Steelers are doing since Mason Rudolph gets in. You don’t get nine lives in football, but it feels like this 2023 Steelers team has nine lives. We called them for dead like three different times, they changed quarterbacks three different times, and now we’ve gotten Mason Rudolph and they’ve now won two huge games,” Schrager said.
Brandt said despite how ugly it looked at times, the Steelers figured it out like they always do.
“It was scary. It was dark. It was ugly. They’re losing to the Colts, they’re losing to the Patriots, they’re losing to the Cardinals. And they snap their fingers and here we are like we are every single year. Everyone thought they were gonna just fade away,” Brandt said. “I don’t know where this team was for most of the month of December, but they’re incredible to watch.”
Brandt also said that despite the Steelers needing to get some help to make the postseason, the Steelers are getting in. Then, he left with one final message.
“Don’t give up on the Steelers. You look dumb when you do it.”
There’s no doubt that it’s incredible what Pittsburgh and Rudolph have done. Despite not playing since the 2021 season, Rudolph has given this Steelers team a major spark, and his deep ball has helped open up the run game. Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris have both taken off, as the Steelers ran for 202 yards on the ground against Seattle yesterday and just thoroughly dominated up front in a tough road environment.
Once again, the Steelers are alive in Week 18, and once again, they need help to make the postseason. But even being in this position didn’t seem all that likely coming out of Week 15, after they let the Colts push them around in a 30-13 loss. But once Rudolph took over under center, the vibe changed, and on his first pass of Week 16, he hit wide receiver George Pickens for an 86-yard touchdown. Since then, this Steelers offense has looked good, something it hadn’t all year with Kenny Pickett or Mitch Trubisky under center.
It’s been a lot of fun to watch Rudolph and this offense work, and it’s the first time in years the Steelers’ offense has been fun to watch and hasn’t made your eyes bleed. We’ll see if they can carry it over into Week 18, but if they do and they can sneak into the playoffs, they just might be a team that no one wants to play.
