PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin saying at the beginning of the week that Mason Rudolph had the ball and at the end of the week confirming Rudolph will be the starting quarterback on Sunday in Seattle.
Rudolph led the Steelers to their most points all season, going 17-27 for 290 yards and a pair of touchdowns to George Pickens in a 34-11 win over Cincinnati.
“We were at a point and time where we had nothing to lose,” said Steelers center Mason Cole. “We were taking these shots. Mason with the 50-50 shots. We were challenged to take shots and be aggressive. We had done it before, but for whatever reason we got out of that rhythm.”
“We ran the ball well when we needed to and when you do that you are balanced and you can take shots like that.”
“Got the ball, threw the ball to open people and what the coverage dictated and that’s all we can ask for him,” said Steelers offensive coordinator Eddie Faulkner said of Rudolph. “We slimmed the plan down so he could play fast, and he did that.”
Similar plans for this week against the Seahawks and they will look for the same, cool, collected, calculated game out of Rudolph.
“He was prepared all year long,” Cole said. “When he got in there, there was no panic. He was just cool as a cucumber. He was confident like he had been there before, because he had been there before.”
Cole said another huge key for Rudolph and the offense on Sunday is getting off to a fast start. The Steelers center has played there a few times while with the Cardinals, he said Seattle may be the best environment in the NFL.
“It’s tough,” Cole said Friday. “Those are good fans up there, but there is no better place to win a game, either.”
And for the second consecutive week they will go with Rudolph as the starting quarterback. What we don’t know yet is who the back-up will be, we may not know that until 90 minutes before kickoff.