Seated at the dais within the Steelers news conference room at Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh quarterback Mason Rudolph openly acknowledged allowing his thoughts to wander into the realm of “what-ifs.”
Contemplating whether Saturday marked one of his final chances to prove himself as an NFL quarterback, Rudolph pondered his standing in the league after a tumultuous six seasons, comprising a mere 18 starts, with just two in the past three years. The question lingered: Did he genuinely belong at this level?
In a resounding 34-11 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, a game that marked Pittsburgh’s first win by more than one score all season, Rudolph answered those lingering doubts with authority. Amassing 290 passing yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions, he demonstrated to himself and the crowd of over 66,000 fans that he is capable of playing winning football in the NFL.
Reflecting on the experience, Rudolph shared, “You’ve got confidence in yourself as a player, but you’re kind of thinking, ‘Am I going to jump into the commercial real estate realm next year or am I going to be playing quarterback?'” the Steelers news conference
Despite being inactive for the majority of the current season, Rudolph seized the opportunity during his first start since Week 10 of the 2021 season. In a standout moment early in the game, he connected with wide receiver George Pickens on a short throw, resulting in an 86-yard touchdown—the Steelers’ longest since Ben Roethlisberger’s 97-yard score to JuJu Smith-Schuster in Week 12 of the 2018 season.
A fast start no matter whether you’re in high school, college or pro, it makes a difference, and especially when we’re at this venue at home gets the crowd into it, to get a guy like George going early and his run-after-catch ability, it’s just second to none,” Rudolph said. “So, it was a pretty cool view as I tried to chase him down from behind.”
Aided by that long scoring play, Rudolph threw for 130 yards in the first quarter, the most by a Steelers quarterback in any quarter since Kenny Pickett threw for 138 yards in the fourth quarter at the Los Angeles Rams in Week 7.