With the Steelers' practices resuming Wednesday on the South Side, the door was still open for Kenny Pickett to play Sunday in Seattle.
Officially, anyway.
In his first press conference in a month, Pickett said his rehab from an ankle injury is on track but a determination of his clearance to play will rest on the training staff.
"It feels like I’m on track with what I need to do," Pickett said Wednesday on the South Side. "It’s really not how I feel. It’s kind of what they see me doing and how they feel like I’m looking moving around and everything. ... I can’t give you a percentage. I don’t really know. Just listening to what the trainers are telling me, the way I’m moving and everything, and going from there.”
The expectation is that Mason Rudolph will start against the Seahawks, fresh off an excellent showing against the Bengals, and that was strongly supported by Rudolph taking first-team snaps in this practice.
Here are Rudolph and Pickett in a drill during the early portion of Wednesday's practice. Note who takes the first rep ahead of the other:
Rudolph would confirm after Wednesday's practice, as well, that he took the first-team reps.
Those reps would be important for any quarterback, and this doesn't bode well for Pickett. He practiced in a limited fashion all last week and was made inactive, and then Rudolph re-assumed the first-team reps in the first practice since that game.
Even if Pickett is cleared to play, that doesn't guarantee he's automatically going to play. Rudolph moved the ball unlike any Steelers quarterback did all season, and the one thing Tomlin admired about Rudolph's play from Saturday was his aggressiveness.
"We talked about him having a great deal of belief in himself and being aggressive in mentality and play. And those things were confirmed in game," Tomlin said of Rudolph Tuesday. "I thought he did a really good job of being comfortable, being himself, communicating with people, regardless of the moments. I thought that showed, the confidence that he has in himself showed, and also thought that he remained aggressive throughout."
Tomlin might want to tap into that again on Sunday.
Rudolph pushed the ball downfield against the Bengals, all while maintaining an efficiency on pass patterns in the short and intermediate. This aggressive nature enabled the Steelers' offense to post a season-high 34 points and four touchdown drives, two things that had not been achieved all season in a single game.
"I don't know that I would say I was trying to be aggressive," Rudolph said. "I was just trying to take what the defense gave me on each snap. There were times that a check down was needed when they covered the intermediate to the deeper concepts, but when we got those matchups that we liked down the field, splash plays, they eliminate a lot of execution and they extend drives. We're always hunting those."
Per Next Gen Stats, Rudolph completed 5 of 11 attempts on passes that traveled 10 or more yards, and he gathered 145 passing yards off of such completions on Saturday. George Pickens was the main beneficiary of this, as he caught four passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns and connected with Rudolph for pass plays of 86, 44 and 66 yards.
NFL Next Gen Stats
Mason Rudolph's passing chart by field area from Saturday's game against the Bengals.
Rudolph's precision on deep balls was also there. Per Next Gen Stats, his 44-yard completion to Pickens late in the second quarter traveled 55.7 air yards -- accounting for how far he dropped back and the angle at which the ball flew to Pickens -- which is the longest completion by air distance by a Steelers quarterback since 2017.
Rudolph maintained his aggressive nature throughout key moments of Saturday's game, but those deep routes were perhaps opened up by his high level of success with working underneath. On passing plays that stretched fewer than 10 yards, Rudolph completed 12 of 14 attempts for 145 yards and his touchdown to Pickens on the Steelers' second play from scrimmage. This came in spite of Pat Freiermuth no being targeted in the passing game Saturday. In the Steelers' first matchup with the Bengals Nov. 26, Freiermuth caught nine balls for 120 yards.
"I think, for us as skill players, we've just got to try to continue to do our job and be where we need to be and make plays when our number's called," Allen Robinson said before Wednesday's practice. "... You see how that impacts the game. Last week, for us, we were able to score some points early, put our defense into an advantageous position and being able to make (the Bengals) a little bit more one-dimensional and needing to pass, needing to play and try to shorten the game and things like that."
Seattle is more prone to allowing big plays in the running game, and that could help open opportunities for Rudolph on Sunday. Entering Week 17, the Seahawks have allowed the sixth-most rushing yards in the NFL, and their 20 rushing touchdowns allowed are three fewer than Carolina's league-high 23. Teams have also gained 116 first downs on the Seahawks via the run, which is fourth-most in the NFL.
Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren can help contribute to this aggressive nature again, just as they did Saturday.
"I thought we were balanced," Rudolph said. "Najee and Jaylen ran the ball very well. Obviously doesn't happen unless the offensive line protects, really drives off, and I think, rightly so, the've gotten a lot of recognition, praise for their performance. And obviously when you're up a couple scores, a few touchdowns, that's when teams have to pack the box, become more aggressive, and you have those shots down the field. I think it was more of a credit to the fast start, the turnovers the defense created. It was just a complete effort and it was just truly a joy to congratulate and celebrate with guys on both sides of the ball. It was a lot of fun."
Harris rushed for 78 yards and a touchdown on 19 attempts Saturday. Per Next Gen Stats, Harris rushed for 19 yards over expected despite facing eight or men in the box 26.3% of the time. He totaled 62 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries that went in between the tackles.
Warren followed with 54 all-purpose yards on 13 touches. Warren was more efficient out of the passing game with his 30 yards on five receptions, compared to his 24 rushing yards on eight carries.
"It helps out a lot," Harris said. "I think that Mason did a really good job of just coming in and executing what he had to do. We're all happy off of his performance."
