Quick question: Does this look like the body language of a guy who was brutally knocked out in his last NFL start?
How about this?
Yeah, that second gif there is Mason Rudolph scrambling and taking a big hit from Dolphins linebacker Sam Eguavoen in the third quarter of the Steelers 27-14 win Monday night at Heinz Field. This after the first play up there, mind you. And also after this disastrous first-drive interception:
Rudolph was getting booed early and often by the Heinz Field faithful on this 59-degree late-October night in the Steel City — and for good reason. He was progressing through his reads at a sluggish pace and putting precisely nothing on the ball. I mean, look at that pick again. There's nothing to it for a standout corner like Xavien Howard. It's the kind of thing Rudolph can't do in the pros.
And he knew it.
"I think, you know, we started slow for whatever reason," Rudolph was saying during his post-game press conference. "It doesn't help to throw an interception there on the first drive. I don't want to give any excuses, so I thought we came out a little slow, but we kept fighting. We got a lot of leadership on that offensive line, on our team in general. Guys are never going to shy away from competition or shy away from going back out there with a positive attitude and outlook just because of an interception or any turnover. We're a very hard-nosed group and we kept fighting."
But now scroll up a little more and put on your positive-frame-of-mind hat. That's Rudolph taking his smacks, standing tall in the pocket as the defense collapses around him. In his last start, Week 5 against the Ravens, Rudolph was knocked unconscious by Ravens safety Earl Thomas. That put him on the shelf for the team's 24-17 win over the Chargers and gave him additional time to recover during the Week 7 bye.
Leading into his return, Rudolph insisted he was past the hit. He wasn't going to let it bother him, and he wasn't going to change his style of play because of a setback. But it's one thing to say that. It's another thing to do it, as Rudolph did up there in those two gifs and beyond throughout the Steelers' win.
I had to ask him about it all after the game:
"I think, you know, I took some early, and it didn't faze me really at all," Rudolph was saying. "It's good to get that first one in and handle it and move forward. I'm never going to shy away from contact. I'm going to try to play the position as physical as I can. But yeah, I guess it was good in a sense to put it behind me and get the first one in, but I never thought about it twice moving forward."
And that second play, the scramble where he takes an unnecessary blow — up high nonetheless? Yeah, Rudolph won't be doing that again. I had a follow-up question in the holster for that one.
"Yeah, coach, he just, that's playing team football and throwing the ball away and giving us a chance when I knew I wasn't going to gain a whole lot of yardage there," Rudolph fired back. "For sure, that's one of the mistakes — corrections — you'll make and you'll look back and move forward and correct them."
There's a lot to like in that response. First, Rudolph acknowledges the mistake — errrr — correction. He doesn't simply say, "Things happen quickly out there," as he rightfully could have. Instead, he says he was in the wrong and admits a coaching moment took place. Then, he calls it not a "mistake" but a "correction." That's the mark of a positive, winning mindset.
And it's one Rudolph needed, because after that early interception and a sluggish start, the Heinz Field crowd was not feeling No. 2 under center. In fact, they were ready for Devlin Hodges, who filled in for Rudolph in the team's win over the Chargers in Week 6, to emerge from the smoke and save the day.
Serious boos for the home team coming down here at Heinz Field after Rudolph takes a sack on third down.
“We want Duck!” chant followed shortly after. #dkps #steelers pic.twitter.com/NOPGBbOJqA
— Hunter Alek Homistek (@HunterAHomistek) October 29, 2019
Once again, though, Rudolph was unfazed.
"Hey, I mean, I would've booed that performance too," Rudolph said. "Coming out slow, and it's the Pittsburgh Steelers. There's a standard here, and we weren't meeting it at the time and so ... when your back's against the wall and you dig yourself a hole, 14-0, and to come back the way we did, I was really proud of the group, really proud of the way we responded as an offense."
Not to look too far into this, but from the jump in his post-game presser, Rudolph was ... aware ... of what just happened. He started poorly. Really, really poorly. Listen how he interjects with a knowing "yeah" and a nod as Chase Williams from our partners at WPXI frames the opening question regarding his rough start:
Then listen how he interrupts our Dale Lolley as he begins to point out a particular turning point just before the half, excited to recall a crucial moment for him in the game:
"They decided to go Cover 0, bring everybody out, empty it out," Rudolph interjected, referring to Diontae Johnson's 45-yard touchdown just before halftime. "They did a great job protecting out front, give me a chance to get the ball off, and you saw, they basically doubled [JuJu Smith-Schuster]. The corner didn't run with Diontae, and James Washington, what an unbelievable block down the field to the left to kind of secure that with time expiring there. Great job, almost like a punt return situation where blocks downfield are crucial."
That play sparked Rudolph, who finished with 251 yards with two touchdowns and an interception on the night. Mike Tomlin acknowledged the challenge for Rudolph — the injury, the bye week, the still-new idea of starting in the NFL — after the game:
"[Rudolph] knocked a little rust off and got going and found some rhythm, gave guys an opportunity to make plays, and guys made those plays in one-on-one circumstances," Tomlin said. " ... [There was rust] not only for him but for all of us. There's always that angst when you're coming off of a bye week of warming up to the action. I thought we could've started faster, not only him, but all of us. I'd like to see our defense keep them out of the endzone when we turn the ball over, for instance."
Tomlin mentioned the defense's need to support Rudolph, but Rudolph himself went another direction. James Conner ran for 145 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries before exiting the game with a shoulder/AC joint injury late in the fourth quarter — and Rudolph certainly appreciated his efforts in keeping the offense rolling smoothly.
"Unbelievable job," Rudolph said of Conner. "He came out hot early and really kind of sparked us as an offense. And Coach Tomlin had been talking about, all week, securing the 10-yard runs and we need more of them and just making ourselves more of a complete offense ... James did a good job, and he's playing up there at the top of the competition with running backs in this league. He's a physical guy and he really provided us with a spark today."
Then, how about this for a sprinkle on top: There was Conner. There was the offensive line. There were the receivers stepping up and making plays. There was Tomlin's game plan.
But lingering behind the scenes and out of sight, a little less obvious, was Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelers' franchise quarterback who is sidelined for the rest of the year after undergoing elbow surgery. Roethlisberger's injury gave Rudolph his opportunity as a starter in this league.
So how much does he impact Rudolph's growth and development?
"He's been more helpful than I really thought," Rudolph said. "Such a tough situation, having your season taken from you like that. But he's been great giving input at halftime. He's been up on the whiteboard at times drawing stuff out. So he's been awesome in that regard, yes."
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
Steelers vs. Dolphins, Heinz Field, Oct. 28, 2019 -- MATT SUNDAY / DKPS
