PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Mike Tomlin said he doesn’t know what play it happened on, only that Aaron Rodgers will be evaluated on Monday for a wrist injury suffered late in the first half Sunday. He said Mason Rudolph ‘delivered when called upon’ in a 34-12 win over Cincinnati Sunday.
Tomlin said his attention was on the field and didn’t realize Rodgers didn’t return to the sideline. Tomlin did talk with his starting quarterback and Rodgers said he was excited about the win, but that’s all they talked about.
Related
The Steelers head coach said Rudolph has proven in the past what he showed on Sunday and that’s why they ‘value him as a member of this collective’ and ‘appreciate his play’.
Rudolph said he found out from Rodgers at halftime that he would play. He credited offensive coordinator Arthur Smith for talking through plays that fit his style, which helped. He also credited the offensive line as he said he wasn’t touched and the receivers for their yards after catch.
The Steelers 2018 third-round pick was 12-16 for 127 yards and a touchdown with no turnovers. He led an offense that scored that touchdown and a field goal and was 5 of 6 on third downs.
“We won, and that’s the only objective,” Rudolph said of his play. “I thought once I settled down a little bit—I had a couple errant ones early but just tried to get it to our guys. It was a lot of fun.”
“He did all the OTAs, mini-camp, Mason was our quarterback,” said receiver Calvin Austin. “It was pretty normal.”
“A lot of guys that were on that team are still here (when he was a starter). That’s why it’s like there is no blinking, in the past there may have been, but with Mason it’s like ‘ok, let’s go’.”
Related
Austin praised Rudolph for all the work he does with the young players getting them ready for games. Staying after practice to throw with them to work on their craft. He appreciated him accepting that role and making the most of it.
“We just go, kind of what I’ve been saying,” said tailback Jaylen Warren. “We’ve got playmaker depth at every position, if someone goes down, it’s next man up.”
"Shout out to my boy Mason Rudolph coming in and coming in clutch," said corner Joey Porter, Junior. "I we always say, we always got horses."
"I love Mason," said linebacker Nick Herbig. "next man up mentality. Mason embodies that. There's a reason why he was drafted here, a reason why we him back. You know, Mason is a great dude, great player, you know, and we have no issues with him."
“Some may be surprised,” said captain Cam Heyward. “We feel like we have a bunch of quarterbacks that are ready for those moments. Would we like Aaron out there? Yes. We feel very confident when Mason steps on that field.”
“He’s always delivered when called upon in the past,” Tomlin said. “That’s why we value him. His performance was consistent with what he’s done in the past for us. Not that we take it for granted, we don’t. We appreciate it.”
Rudolph even got to hear a loud ovation when he entered the game to start the third quarter.
“I love playing here,” Rudolph said. “This is where I was drafted, and this is home. Yeah, very special.”