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If Mason Rudolph ever achieves his goal of becoming a full-time starting quarterback in the NFL, he certainly will face games with more on the line than he did Sunday in Cleveland.
But it’s what Rudolph did during the high-stakes moments in what was a low-stakes game that are so encouraging for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Rudolph was mostly at his best during “possession downs” (as coach Mike Tomlin likes to call third- and fourth-down snaps), and he excelled during the second half while coming upa 2-point conversion short of leading the Steelers back from a 15-point deficit in a 24-22 loss to the Browns.
“I thought his performance the whole game was great,” center J.C. Hassenauer said. “I was so proud of him, the way he stepped up this week. He led our team. He set the tempo. He was a leader.”
At no time was Rudolph’s leadership more evident than in the higher-pressure situations of third- and fourth-and-long. On snaps of third- or fourth-and-10 or longer, Rudolph was 8 for 10 for 140 yards with two touchdowns.
One of those incompletions on third-and-10 was followed immediately by a 28-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-10. Rudolph additionally completed a 26-yard pass on third-and-9 and a 9-yard pass on third-and-8.
“I think I did that well today,” Rudolph said of his play on third- or fourth-and-long.
“Really proud of the way those (receivers) played today for me (and) for our offense, and I’ve got to make a better throw there on the 2-point play to send us into OT.”
Rudolph’s miss high to Chase Claypool on a conversion pass with 1 minute, 26 seconds left was one of the few times he was off-target in a clutch moment Sunday.
Rudolph had a 97.7 rating and 9.0 yards per attempt in the second half and was 7 for 14 with 125 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
“I was encouraged we got back into the game,” Rudolph said.
With the Steelers electing to rest some veteran starters because they were locked into a No. 2 or 3 playoff seed, Rudolph started in place of franchise QB Ben Roethlisberger. At 38 and coming off elbow surgery in 2020, Roethlisberger’s arm strength and ability (and/or willingness) to throw downfield has been a talking point throughout the latter part of the Steelers’ season.
Roethlisberger is 31st in the NFL in yards per attempt at 6.3. Rudolph’s mark in that area against the Browns was 8.1, better than any of Roethlisberger’s 15 starts this season. For context, Patrick Mahomes is averaging 8.1 yards per attempt this season.
Overall, Rudolph completed 22 of 39 passes for 315 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He completed passes of 47 and 41 yards to Diontae Johnson and a 41-yard pass to Claypool.
Those three completions of 40 or more yards are one shy of what Roethlisberger produced all season.
“We tried to take as many shots as we could,” Rudolph said.
The successes on third down and on deep throws limited something that has plagued the Steelers all season: short drives. Five of Sunday’s last six possessions produced points and went 52-plus yards. The Steelers punted only three times, their fewest in a game since October. The Steelers led the NFL in three-and-outs with 47 but had only one Sunday.
All under the guidance of Rudolph.
“I don’t know that I was surprised by it,” Tomlin said. “It was reasonable to expect improvement in his play. This guy has been working extremely hard really for 12 calendar months.
“We anticipated him being better, and he was.”
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Chris Adamski is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Chris by email at [email protected] or via Twitter .
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