How Mason Rudolph — playing not just for a win, but for his career — came through

PITTSBURGH — Who knows how much Mason Rudolph thought about the gravity of the situation?

But there’s no doubt it crossed his mind. At 28 years old, brought back on a whim this offseason to be the third quarterback and more than two years removed from his last start (and more than four years removed from the Myles Garrett incident), this very well could have been it.

Getting an opportunity to start an NFL game as a third-string quarterback doesn’t happen a lot. For Rudolph to get a chance Saturday night as the Pittsburgh Steelers took on the Cincinnati Bengals, Kenny Pickett had to injure his ankle, and Mitch Trubisky had to implode in losses against the Patriots and Colts before Mike Tomlin reluctantly turned to Rudolph.

Imagine how paralyzing it could have been for Rudolph, knowing that the Steelers would be all but eliminated from the playoffs with a loss, and knowing that if he played poorly, it was fair to wonder who in the world would ever give him another shot.

As a free agent this offseason, Rudolph drew limited interest before coming back to the Steelers for a veteran’s minimum contract. And you’ve seen how bad some teams’ quarterback situations are these days.

Asked after the game if he thought this could be his last opportunity, Rudolph replied, “You never know.”

“You have confidence in yourself as a player,” he added, “but you are kind of thinking, ‘Am I going to jump into the commercial real estate realm next year, or am I going to be playing quarterback?’”

Rudolph gave a little wry smile, perhaps because there was a lot more truth to his answer than he might have wanted. If he had played poorly against the Bengals, Rudolph’s odds of ever starting another NFL game would have been quite long. Just look how long it took him to get back into the lineup when both Pickett and Trubisky were struggling daily.

If you don’t think that’s real, think again.

After an 86-yard touchdown pass to George Pickens on the second play from scrimmage, Rudolph looked up to the stands to find where his parents were. He knew what was at stake, yet still performed flawlessly.

Even so, it might be a one-and-done.

Hell, Tomlin — speaking after the win — wouldn’t even commit to Rudolph for next week’s must-win game against the Seattle Seahawks. Pickett practiced last week and very well could be cleared in time for Sunday’s game.

Tomlin was noncommittal even though Rudolph finished 17 of 27 for 290 yards, two touchdowns and a 124.4 passer rating, as the Steelers’ offense scored 34 points, the most it has accounted for in a game since November of 2021. Pittsburgh beat Cincinnati 34-11 after entering with no wins by a margin of more than seven points this season.

“Very rewarding,” Rudolph said. “I am just grateful to be back on this team and grateful to have an opportunity. … As hard as it is to sit and watch for two-and-a-half years, you can go on autopilot mode or try to improve. … Call the play in the huddle, the snap count, try to go through, simulate what you would do if you were in there. Just when the years go by, your football IQ improves.”

Now, that’s a refreshing answer.

“I thought I had a good week of practice, and I didn’t sleep — I don’t think I slept at all,” Rudolph said. “I think it was like Monday night to the Tuesday practice just because it was like that — I hadn’t taken a full day of reps in a while, so you’re a little nervous and tightly wound. … Just kind of the jitters, like training camp the last few years. Before the first day, you get a little wound up. It’s probably more excitement than nerves.”

If there were any nerves, those quickly dissipated on his first throw of the game, which hit Pickens in stride for the 86-yard touchdown. It was just one of plenty of good throws. He stretched the field like neither Pickett nor Trubisky have, hitting Pickens for throws of 44 and then 66 yards as well.

Rudolph was fluid with his reads, went through his progressions, was accurate and pretty much made every throw, aside from one miss to Diontae Johnson. This after Tomlin was worried he might be rusty, citing that as the reason why Rudolph didn’t start against the Colts last week.

“I thought he did a really good job of not displaying rust for a guy who hasn’t played a lot,” Tomlin said.

Rudolph deserved what he got against the Bengals.

After he was drafted in the third round, almost immediately incumbent quarterback Ben Roethlisberger questioned why the team would “waste” a pick on a quarterback. The frosty relationship continued until Roethlisberger retired following the 2021 season.

Rudolph had many experiences in his first few seasons that many might never have overcome — from not having a quarterbacks coach to being third-string as a rookie (with his only in-season snaps coming via virtual reality after practice) to being thrown in as the Roethlisberger’s replacement in Week 2 of the 2020 season. Then being knocked out by Earl Thomas, the Garrett incident, the Duck Hodges phenomenon, the tie against the Lions and then years of inactivity.

Rudolph was a punchline, not only in Pittsburgh but in NFL circles.

“I am happy for Mason,” center Mason Cole said. “If anybody deserves this, it is him.”

While he could have just given up, Rudolph kept his mouth shut and worked so that if an opportunity came around, he would be ready. All players say that, but Rudolph lived it.

Especially this week, with all the noise surrounding Pickens and his selfishness, it couldn’t have been a better message to the team. Forget “the standard is the standard” or the one Tomlin pulled out after the game, “scared money don’t make money.”

Rudolph is living proof that the old-school way of doing things still works. Maybe that’s why Steelers fans have done a 180 on Rudolph. They chanted his name late in the Patriots game while he stood on the sidelines, and they started it up again during the third quarter on Saturday.

“I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy it or like it,” Rudolph said. “But it’s a week-to-week league. I’ve been on the other end of it as I said, so I try not to — you try to block it out and play the game.”

Hearing what was going on, Rudolph waved his hands, asking for the 66,000-plus to quiet down. A lesser person might have flipped them the bird for how they’ve talked about him over the years. Pickens talked about keeping receipts from this week. If Rudolph did that, he’d have a suitcase full of them.

Instead, what did Rudolph like most about the experience? “Earning my paycheck and not just feeling like a freeloader,” he said.

Now, the Steelers have somebody to rally around. Teams have gone on runs before with far less talented players, but Tomlin’s unwillingness to go to Rudolph until now might prove to be too late in the process. The Steelers have to beat Seattle and Baltimore and then hope for some help to make the playoffs.

“Shoutout to Mason,” linebacker Alex Highsmith said. “He came out and did his thing. He’s been working, and it has shown. We all rallied around him, and he came out and did his thing.”

The team gave Rudolph the game ball, and rightfully so.

But, if we’re looking at this as a feel-good story, maybe we are looking at this wrong. Maybe we need to look deeper than that.

Rudolph might just be what this team and this offense need.

Dating to his time at Oklahoma State, he has always been a good deep thrower, and when you have a player like Pickens, you can light up the scoreboard quickly. Tomlin talked all week about the need to score points. But when you have a quarterback who is afraid (Pickett) or unable (Trubisky) to throw the deep ball, you can’t score points.

“The plays that we had dialed up, Mason just let it rip,” Pickens said. “It’s all up to the QB, and I feel he was taking more shots, personally. I was hoping that he was going to give me a chance.”

Pickens caught four passes for 195 yards and two scores. He was unstoppable. That opened up the run game, and the offense clicked like it hadn’t all year. The offense line blew people off the ball, and the defense, despite its injuries, was solid.

Was it all because of Mason Rudolph? Well, what else was different? You tell me.

(Photo: Charles LeClaire / USA Today)

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