The Pittsburgh Steelers finished off a strong 34-12 Week 11 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on November 16, but there was some nervousness after the game as quarterback Aaron Rodgers left with an injury.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin offered a key clarification on Rodgers’ wrist injury after the victory, noting that it was his “left wrist” that forced him to leave the outing.
In other words, Rodgers did not injure his throwing wrist, which is a small silver lining and a positive sign for Pittsburgh.
Aside from that, Tomlin simply stated that Rodgers would “be evaluated” on Monday morning. So, the expectation is that there will be a more informative injury update on Rodgers on November 17.
Mike Tomlin Discusses Mason Rudolph’s Impact After Steelers Beat Bengals in Week 11
GettyPittsburgh Steelers backup quarterback Mason Rudolph helped secure the win against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Tomlin was also asked about backup quarterback Mason Rudolph, and the job he did coming in to pick up where Rodgers left off.
“Mason has proven in the past what he showed today,” Tomlin told reporters. “That’s why we value him as a member of this collective, and [why we are] appreciative of his play.”
Although Rudolph didn’t have to do a ton after the two defensive touchdowns, he actually outplayed Rodgers from a statistical standpoint.
Rodgers left Week 11 with 116 passing yards and 1 touchdown, completing 9 of 15 attempts. He had a passer rating of 106.5, according to ESPN.
Rudolph, on the other hand, completed 12 of his 16 passing attempts for 127 yards and 1 touchdown. Yielding a passer rating of 118.5.
A contingent of Steelers fans has called for Rudolph to replace Rodgers in recent weeks, so it’ll be interesting to see if the Week 11 win adds any fuel to that QB fire.
To be clear, Tomlin has never wavered from Rodgers as his starting quarterback, barring health. If he’s good to go in Week 12, he’s expected to retain the QB1 job.
Mason Rudolph Admits to ‘Jitters’ After Aaron Rodgers Injury
Rudolph addressed the media after Tomlin, and he spoke about getting the call after the Aaron Rodgers injury.
“You never know when [playing time is] going to come,” Rudolph said, admitting: “But you always have a little [bit of] jitters first time going back [in] all year.”
“But when we’re running the ball the way we were, and then a couple of guys made a couple of nice plays on third and extra long — Darnell [Washington] on that check down, Kenny [Gainwell] on that flare route — two defensive touchdowns right when we needed them the most was huge, and we ran the ball really well. I barely got touched, so offensive line, hats off to them,” the backup QB continued.
He finally added that the entire experience was “a lot of fun.”
Rudolph noted that he’s not sure of the “severity” of Rodgers’ injury yet, but appreciated the job of offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, who reshaped the game plan around his strengths.
“I send [Smith] my favorite plays each and every week,” Rudolph explained. “But we were just kind of talking through what’s already been called and what do I like that’s remaining that [the opposing defense] hasn’t seen.”
Whatever Smith and Rudolph were doing, it appeared to work as the Steelers’ backup signal-caller was very efficient during the second half.
Steelers’ Mike Tomlin Provides Initial Injury Update on Aaron Rodgers