Former Cowboys Quarterback to Keep Steelers Starting Job in Regular Season Finale
Former Oklahoma State quarterback Mason Rudolph is set to get his third start of the season for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
While Kenny Pickett was dealing with injury, the Steelers were desperate for a spark of offensive, which led them to turn to Rudolph, who was the third-string quarterback to start the season, to get that spark.
It paid off as Rudolph has led the Steelers to two straight wins and now can get them into the playoffs with a win against the Baltimore Ravens in their regular season finale on Saturday.
On Monday, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin explained that, despite Pickett being healthy, Rudolph will remain the starting quarterback for the final week of regular season play.
"Kenny's availability is less than question this week," Tomlin said. "I anticipate him being available to practice. That being said, we've got to leave the ball in Mason Rudolph's hands. He's done a good job, and we've done a good job in the most recent two weeks. We've taken care of the ball. He's taking care of the ball. We score points at a rate and which we hadn't done to this point this year. And with the urgency of the moment and because of those reasons, we're going to leave the ball in his hands."
In those two games, the former Cowboys quarterback has thrown for 564 passing yards, two touchdowns and has had zero interceptions while completing 35 of his 51 pass attempts.
For Rudolph, he's just excited to get another start and more playing time, as the former Oklahoma State star has been with the Steelers in backup roles since 2018.
"It's another great opportunity to play a game, so I'm very excited," Rudolph said. "Obviously, we have a lot to play for. So, I'm just focused on having a good day of prep today, having a good week of practice and knowing all we can control is our performance, whether we win or lose. We've got tunnel vision on that and the rest of the chips will fall where they fall."
It'll be interesting to see if Rudolph can beat one of the best and hottest teams in the NFL in the Baltimore Ravens, which will feature two other Oklahoma State standouts in Justice Hill and Tylan Wallace.
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