We have seen enough: Mason Rudolph cannot be Ben Roethlisberger's heir apparent. The career backup showed Sunday he's a marginal quarterback at best, barely outplaying Jared Goff, who put together one of the worst games under center you will ever witness. Rudolph starting for 16 games would be a slog, just like Sunday's dreadful affair.
The record will show that late-game fumbles cost Pittsburgh the victory, rather than Rudolph's uninspiring play. Diontae Johnson fumbled on the Steelers' first possession of overtime, coughing up what would've been a 39-yard gain. Pat Freiermuth put the final nail in the Steelers' sad coffin when he lost the football in Detroit territory with less than 10 seconds remaining in OT, cementing the tie.
The Steelers' defense also got gashed. It allowed the winless Lions to run for 229 yards and a 5.9 yards-per-carry average. Still, it surrendered just 16 points. Few teams in the NFL lose when they hold their opponent under 20 points.
The game wouldn't have been close if Rudolph made his throws. His biggest error came in the third quarter when he underthrew a wide open Ray-Ray McCloud in the end zone, and he missed a slant to Johnson in the fourth quarter that would've been an easy first down in Lions' territory. Overall, Rudolph completed 30-of-50 passes for 242 yards with a touchdown and interception. He averaged a dreadful 4.8 yards per completion, just a hair better than Goff, who finished with 4.6 yards per completed throw.
Rudolph has now started 10 games for the Steelers, and outside of his first handful of stints filling in for Roethlisberger in 2019, he's been worse than mediocre. He threw five interceptions and compiled a 64.1 QB rating over his final four games that season, splitting time with the immoral Duck Hodges.
"[Rudolph] did what we expected him to do," Mike Tomlin told reporters after the game. "We thought he gave us a chance to win."
That is true: the Steelers had a chance to win, but it was largely thanks to Detroit's ineptitude. Rudolph didn't make their task easier.
Since Roethlisberger is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, there's a chance he may not be available next Sunday night against the Chargers. The Steelers may feel it's too risky to start Dwyane Haskins, but the question should at least be considered. Rudolph didn't earn another showcase.
Fittingly, Sunday's game took place on the two-year anniversary of that fateful Monday night in Cleveland, when Myles Garrett bashed Rudolph in the head with his helmet. As The Fan's Ron Cook points out in his column, Rudolph, or the Steelers, haven't been the same since.
The Steelers were riding a four-game win streak heading into Sunday's affair against the moribund Lions. With the rest of the division scuffling — Baltimore lost to Miami; the Patriots throttled Cleveland — they held a golden opportunity to move into a first place tie. Instead, they literally tied the worst team in football.
Rudolph isn't the sole reason the Steelers lost, but he certainly didn't help them win. That should be the expectation for whomever takes over for Roethlisberger.
Rudolph keeps falling short.
