Steelers appear to have made bad calculation with Mason Rudolph

The Pittsburgh Steelers mortgaged a piece of the future with the idea Mason Rudolph will be Ben Roethlisberger’s successor. But the second-year signal caller is falling well short of that expectation.

In the wake of the incident involving Myles Garrett on Thursday night, the fact the Pittsburgh Steelers lost 21-7 has been obscured. Quarterback Mason Rudolph was particularly not very good, completing 23-of-44 passes for 221 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions in the loss.

Sitting at 0-2, and having just lost Ben Roethlisberger to an elbow injury in that Week 2 game, the Steelers turned some heads by parting with their 2020 first-round pick in a deal with the Miami Dolphins for defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick.

Getting a 22-year-old who will be a future defensive building block is never a bad idea, and Fitzpatrick has made a big difference with five interceptions in eight games for the Steelers. Driven by that resurgence defensively, Pittsburgh won four games in row prior to Thursday night.

Ceding that first-round pick was a big measure of faith in Rudolph as Roethlisberger’s eventual successor. But the second-year signal caller has fallen well short of that expectation.

Counting that first game in Week 2 against the Seattle Seahawks, when he came in for Roethlisberger, Rudolph had multiple passing touchdowns in each of his first three games with a 103.2 passer rating over that span. But as there’s more tape out there on him, defenses are bringing his limitations to light.

After he posted a passer rating of 36.3 on Thursday night, Rudolph’s passer rating is now 74.2 over the last five games. Overall in the eight games he has played, his average yards per attempt is a lackluster 6.3 as he has thrown eight interceptions with four fumbles (albeit zero lost). A limited ability to threaten downfield, or play-calling that is afraid to unleash downfield passes, can work in concert with a solid ground game. But the Steelers have struggled to get the running game going, as James Conner has been banged up. Rudolph is adding to the issue with increasingly poor play, as he’s also been sacked multiple times in three of the last four games.

The Steelers’ defense obscured the offense’s lack of output during their winning streak, but Rudolph’s shortcomings were on full display Thursday night. Even on the final play of the game, down 14 points, the play call was a screen pass to Trey Edmunds that gained 11 yards. That’s an indictment of Rudolph, even with wide receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster and Diontae Johnson both out of the game with head injuries. Then again, a fifth interception would have been another hit to the flailing confidence of a young quarterback.

Pittsburgh’s upcoming schedule, the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 12, the Browns again in Week 13 and the Arizona Cardinals in Week 14, will provide an opportunity to get on a good track. But as the Steelers look to stay in the playoff race this year and try to tab a successor for Roethlisberger, the current circumstance with Rudolph starting under center is not helping either cause.