Steelers would have been in the playoffs if...

To be fair, his only turnover against the Cardinals was Mason Cole's fault. Cole did a lot more damage than either quarterback that day. Freiermuth has admitted he was responsible for Trubisky's lone interception against the Patriots. Don't get me wrong. Trubisky sucked and should have been pulled against the Patriots and Rudolph should have started against the Colts. Based on his resume and preseason, it made sense for him to be ahead Rudolph last season. Given that nobody wanted Rudolph this offseason, it even made sense to keep them that way behind Pickett this year, but Tomlin should have realized that with the defense falling apart, they needed the guy who could take some shots down the field.

That said, the Patriots have an excellent defense. The Colts' primary vulnerability is against the run, but they rush the passer well. Saturday was the perfect time for Rudolph to take over, with the Steelers facing a terrible Bengals defense. Hopefully, that gives him and the offense confidence and momentum going into two much more difficult games.

 

They literally played Trubisky because the organization signed him to an obscene $10 mil contract and hoped against all hopes that Trubisky would scratch out a couple of what should have been easy winning performances against 2-10 teams, probably thinking it would at least give them some kind of means to justify spending so much money on him. When they realized that Mitch wasn't even good enough to notch some wins against some of the worst teams in the league, there was no longer any way for them to effectively convince anyone that signing him wasn't a mistake, so...they finally went with Mason, who should have either been QB1 or QB2 to begin with. This QB situation has been utterly mismanaged by the Steelers, almost criminally.

 

If Rudolph can lead the team to a win in Seattle....I will start to believe. Seahawks are going to be a tougher win than Ravens. Steelers will beat the Ravens even with LJ starting. Watt owns LJ.

 

This. It's that freaking simple. It's not a conspiracy that when a organization pays a FA more than the rest of the players at His position on the team.....they want to play them . It's why He got the start last year, and why He was the number 2 this year. It was a mistake, but it was a organizational mistake by bringing Him in the 1st place.

 

I never said Mason was awesome. I have just said that as of now.....He was the best Qb on the team. Doesn't mean KFP can't pass Him, but He was always better on this team than ....if I throw more than 10 yards down the field no telling where my ball may go Mitch.

 

they should not have paid mitch lots of money look a loser anyway Chiefs better not let Raiders back into this playoff chase

 

We don't need Rudolph to be the 2nd coming of Joe Montana. Move the offense down the damn field and score points.

 

The Raiders just scored 2 defensive touchdowns in 7 seconds. A muffed handoff ran in for a TD and then Mahomes next pass was a pick 6.

 

Dang Andy Reid what is He thinking making that happen. LoL

 

Well, he called the trick play that resulted in the scoop and score. Everyone loves the play calling when they're scoring but that wasn't the best spot on the field for a play like that. Problem is, they don't have a run game they can count on.

 

Agreed, but live by the sword....die by the sword. I was also being a bit tongue in cheek. I actually like both A. Reid, and Mahomes as long as we aren't playing them.

 

Not a fan of Mahomes. He's a talented cat but I think he gets away with a lot of things other QBs would be blasted for. This game highlights that.

 

I agree with that, but that comes with being good. We see that a lot....not all the times , but a lot for the good players at their positions. Like certain Wrs can get away with more push offs, certain CBs can get away with being more grabby, and so on.

 

LOL I love the conspiracy theory nonsense with Trubisky. They played him because they thought he was better than Rudolph, which shows how little faith they had in Rudolph. Remember, they were happy to let Rudolph go in the offseason and the rest of the league didn't want him, at least not as a No. 2. Remember, Trubisky had the better resume going into the 2022 season and Rudolph hadn't played since then. People need to give up the nonsense that Rudolph earned better in the preseason last year, too. His numbers were the worst of the three quarterbacks even though he played mostly against backups while Trubisky played mostly against starters.

The mistake was keeping Trubisky for this year instead of going after someone like Minshew, Taylor, or Brissett. They could have bailed on him after last season when his play was erratic, but they figured he would play the good soldier behind Pickett and hopefully make their conservative approach work if he was needed. Against the Cardinals, the Steelers were down seven before he got a meaningful snap and he was moving them before Cole's turf-burner snap led to a fumble that pretty much killed their chances. Even though he had some moments he didn't look horrible in that game, he should have gone into the contest against the Patriots on a short leash. That is the entire reason to hold on to a veteran No. 3, so you have a viable option if your starter is out and your No. 2 gets hurt or plays poorly. Instead, they stuck with him for that game and the next week. To be fair, the Patriots' defense is a hell of a lot better than that of the Bengals. The same is true of the Colts, who have struggled to stop the run all year, but they get after the passer very well. I'm not sure Rudolph would have been much better against those defenses, but I'd have liked to see him get the opportunity.

They stuck with him too long because Tomlin is stubborn. I don't think Tomlin cares what each player is getting paid. Why would he? It's not like his job is in any jeopardy either way.

 

of course, the chiefs lose giving hope to the raiders now f---ng us all the way we can't catch any breaks.

 

Mitch can throw ten yards or longer to the other team i cannot stand that guy get him out

 

Well they do have Devin Bush going for them

He does have 13 tackles on the season

 

The Raiders results are irrelevant to the Steelers. Steelers would have to lose their last 2 games for the raiders to pass them and if that happened, both teams would be eliminated by then

 

Thank you. I am hoping the Raider win motivates them to kick ass in Indy next week

 

I'm not sure about the Steelers beating the Ravens with LJ starting, the Ravens could be playing for the number 1 seed in the AFC, or trying to win the division.

 

If the Ravens win tonight vs the 49ers and week 17 vs Miami, The Ravens will clinch the #1 seed and week 18 will become meaningless to them.

 

I think the Ravens will lose one of the next two games, and they will have something to play for in the season finale.

 

I personally rather play them with Lamar Jackson.

 

The Raven can lose tonight vs the 49ers and still clinch the #1 seed with a win vs Miami and a Browns loss in week 17