To say that anyone expected the legendary game that Mason Rudolph put together last night would definitely be a stretch.
You may have thought about it.
You may have hoped for it.
You might have even prayed on it.
But no one legitimately saw this coming: a 34-11 thrashing of the Cincinnati Bengals, and a win to keep Pittsburgh’s season alive.
So how did Mason Rudolph go from zero to hero this year, and what does this mean for his NFL future?
A former third round pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2018, his journey in professional football had been rather rocky.
After being assigned to the practice squad in his rookie year, having never taken a snap or even suiting up for a game, Rudolph had stumbled into a golden opportunity in 2019.
Now the backup to Ben Roethlisberger, having beaten out Josh Dobbs for the job, Rudolph found himself thrust into NFL action.
Roethlisberger goes down in Week 2 with an elbow injury, forcing Rudolph into the game.
In the second half of Pittsburgh’s home opener, Rudolph went 12/19 for 112 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception.
His effort was respectable, but in the end, not enough to get the win, as Pittsburgh fell 28-26 to the Seattle Seahawks.
However, what was thought of to be a simple relief appearance turned into a full-time starter’s role.
Roethlisberger required surgery on the injured elbow of his throwing arm, which would end his season after just two weeks. Suddenly, Mason Rudolph was leading your Pittsburgh Steelers.
Though he was handed an absolute gift for any quarterback trying to break into the league, his first real season in the NFL was rather rocky.
Though he went 5-3 as the starter, Rudolph’s play was subject to question. In his defense, he had a large void to fill with the legendary Roethlisberger out, but Rudolph played a rather average to below average type of football.
As his play faltered at times, the dam finally broke after a 4-interception game against the Cleveland Browns (yes, the helmet game). Backup to Rudolph and soon-to-be cult hero Devlin “Duck” Hodges took over.
It was a terrible look for Rudolph: a quarterback with a “first round grade” according to the Steelers at the time of his draft, had just been benched in favor of an undrafted free agent whose name was Duck.
Hodges had a heck of a linsanity run for the Steelers. He did not blow up the stat sheet, but he did the important part: win games.
As quick as Hodges’ rise to stardom in Pittsburgh happened however, his downfall happened just as fast.
Hodges would lose his job back to Mason, but by the time that happened, Rudolph’s season had already been marred.
He finished thee 2019 season with a 62.2 completion percentage, 1,765 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions.
He rarely saw playing time after that, but this was more in part to Roethlisberger’s health than Rudolph’s performance.
Rudolph started the season finale the year later, with the Steelers already locking up a playoff spot and having nothing to play for. In that game, he went 22/39 for 315 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 pick.
The following year, he also started just one game. With Ben out on the Covid list (remember that?), Rudolph was forced into play. In a rainy, mucky day, the Rudolph-led Steelers slid into a 16-16 tie with the winless Detroit Lions. Rudolph went 30/50 (!) for 242 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT.
The numbers themselves weren’t terrible, but it was the scoreboard that stung.
After the 2021 season, Rudolph experienced a rollercoaster of emotions. With Ben retiring, Mason stood as the next man up in the line of succession, which was a little ironic considering Ben never fully approved of Rudolph’s drafting.
But not only did Rudolph not become the starter, he plummeted all the way down to the third string quarterback. The signing of Mitch Trubisky and the drafting of Kenny Pickett (actually in the first round) made the quarterback room rather crowded.
In the end, Mason found himself the odd-man out, and despite the fact that the Steelers did experience a quarterback change early in the season, the flip flop involved everyone but Mason: Kenny goes to starter, Mitch goes to the bench.
With Kenny Pickett injured early in Week 14, the empty slot heading into Week 15 left Rudolph with his first real chance to get back into the fold. Despite Mitch throwing 3 interceptions in his relief appearance of Pickett, Trubisky beat out Rudolph in practice to earn the start in Week 15.
To Trubisky’s credit, he did play a good game in that one, but Rudolph watched once again from afar as a different quarterback took the field for Pittsburgh.
Once Pickett returned, Rudolph was relegated back to the shadow realm, where he finished the year.
Understandably tired of the lack of chances he saw in Pittsburgh, as a free agent, Rudolph looked elsewhere for a contract in 2023.
Unfortunately for him, Rudolph’s former agent had him convinced that there would be tons of interest for his services around the NFL. Instead, the opposite was true. All 31 teams passed on him, and as a result, Rudolph fired his agent, sucked it up, and re-upped with the Steelers.
His re-signing was loathed by many fans, who finally thought he would be out of Pittsburgh, but instead got another dose of “Mediocre Mason.”
Accepting his role as the third string quarterback, Rudolph didn’t complain or waiver, nor did he freeload while being resigned to a “sounding board” as head coach Mike Tomlin once described him.
Instead, he simply waited and prepared for an opportunity, should one ever arise.
As the Steelers seemed destined to lock up a playoff spot, disaster struck as Pickett went down with injury once again. An ankle injury that required surgery meant that the Steelers would be without Pickett for several weeks.
Without hesitation, backup Mitch Trubisky, who signed a two year extension in the offseason, was called upon to lead the team. Trubisky, who was required to finish Pittsburgh’s game against Arizona per injury rules, led an uninspiring second half of football as the Steelers were embarrassed by the 2-10 Cardinals.
A short week with a Thursday night game upcoming became Rudolph’s first chance to be upgraded from emergency quarterback to simply backup quarterback.
Meanwhile, Mitch Trubisky had the chance of a lifetime fall into his lap. But much like several of his passes, he threw that golden chance directly into the arms of a defender. Trubisky’s performance against the 2-10 New England Patriots saw him and the offense booed so loud they heard it back in Boston and cackled.
Though Pittsburgh did mount a second comeback that fell just a field goal short, Trubisky’s day at the office (22/35, 190 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 2 almost picks) had fans openly wanting Mason Rudolph for the first time in maybe forever.
Amidst the boos from the crowd, chants for Mason were heard inside Acrisure Stadium.
The need for change at the position was as strong as ever, and if you took the time to look at some numbers regarding Rudolph vs Pickett, Mason was starting to look rather appealing.
And yet, no change from the Steelers coaching staff. Mike Tomlin remained all systems go for Mitch, who got the start yet again in Indianapolis against the Colts.
With their season basically on the line, Trubisky’s Steelers served up an embarrassing blowout loss, allowing 30 unanswered points to lose 30-13.
Trubisky’s second interception late in the game was a backbreaker, and even Mike Tomlin, ever hesitant to avoid “knee jerk reactions,” simply couldn’t stomach another minute of Mitch Trubisky football.
With the game well out of reach, Tomlin sent Rudolph out to finish things out, getting him some in-season NFL reps for the first time in over two years.
Then, he is granted his first real chance since 2021. In the days after the Colts loss, Tomlin announces Rudolph as the starter for your Pittsburgh Steelers.
Offering his first real praise of Rudolph, Tomlin said “He’s good under tough circumstances. He’s a competitor. He’s a calculated risk taker. I believe that mentality is helpful to us under these circumstances.”
Rudolph didn’t get a wink of sleep the first night after the announcement. The mix of excitement and anxiety was quelled during weekly practices, however. Getting more and more reps and time spent with the starters helped Mason get more comfortable and confident heading into his first NFL start in over two years.
At 7-7, the Steelers were far from the team they were when Kenny Pickett first went down. Those Steelers, 7-4, came home and dropped back to back games against 2-win teams, jeopardizing their season.
Now on the outside peering in, it was up to Rudolph to shine so bright and guide the Steelers’ sleigh on Christmas Eve Eve.
And it was straight out of a movie.
On his first pass attempt, Rudolph connects to George Pickens, who breaks free from defenders and runs it all the way for an 86-yard catch and run touchdown.
Little did we know, this would be the theme of the game. With Rudolph at the helm, embattled wide receiver George Pickens had career highs in yards (195) and touchdowns (2).
Pickens silenced the critics and became the main beneficiary of Rudolph’s best talent: his deep ball.
The Steelers charged out to a 24-0 lead over Cincinnati at the half, and did not allow the Bengals to get back in the game.
Rudolph played lights out, going 17/27 for 290 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Most impressive, he struck the right balance between what the Steelers had been getting from Kenny Pickett AND Mitch Trubisky.
With Pickett, the Steelers took care of the ball, but struggled mightily to get yards through the air (Rudolph’s 290 yards beat Pickett’s season high of 278).
Meanwhile with Mitch, the Steelers were subject to constantly lose the turnover margin, with Trubisky throwing 5 interceptions on the season.
With Mason, he took shots down the field, but he did not put the ball in danger. He made the smart plays: getting rid of the ball when he needed to, not forcing passes, making the easy throws, etc.
Mason’s game may have passed the eye test, but it also passed the stats test.
Pittsburgh’s 34-11 win was their largest margin of victory since the 2020 season.
Rudolph became the first QB post-Ben to throw for 250+ yards and 2+ touchdowns.
The Steelers scored 30+ points for the first time in 398 days.
Per Next Gen Stats, this pass from Rudolph to Pickens traveled 55.7 yards in the air, the longest completion by air distance by a Steelers QB since 2017.
Fans sang “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer” in the crowd. Fans chanted his name. They played the song after the game.
Mason Mania had overtaken Pittsburgh.
The win was vital to any faint playoff hopes that the Steelers still have. A loss ended the season, but now at 8-7, they do still have a chance. That only real chance comes by winning out, and getting help from other teams, but that chance is there nonetheless.
In his postgame interview, Rudolph acknowledged he thought this might be his last chance in the NFL.
“Absolutely those thoughts come across your head, yeah,” he answered when asked.
He gave a great postgame interview, breaking down the game and what was going through his mind as it all happened.
On the “Mason Rudolph” chants, he said “We’re all human, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy it, or didn’t like it, but you know, it’s a week-to-week league. I’ve been on the other end of it, so you try to block it out and play the game.”
Despite far and away putting up the best performance by a quarterback this season, the official starter for next week’s New Years Eve game against the Seahawks in Seattle is still up in the air.
With Kenny Pickett likely healthy by then, some are projecting he will get the start. Of course, these are the types of decisions where football politics can get in the way of what should really happen. Pickett, as a (still) unproven first round pick, might end up getting the nod, so that the coaching staff can better evaluate him for both his and the team’s future.
However, after watching what Mason did yesterday and wondering how Trubisky kept getting starts over him, maybe this coaching staff shouldn’t be evaluating anybody.
Whatever the case may be, Mason Rudolph is ready for anything.
“It’s out of my hands, I’ll find out the marching orders as we go.”
Even if this was Mason’s one and only, it will go down as one of the most memorable Steelers games in recent time.
And it will go down as truly, a Christmas miracle.
(Featured photo by Charles LeClaire/USA Today Sports)
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