Mason Rudolph Helps Keep the Steelers Playoff Hopes Alive in 34-11 Victory at Home

It was Mason Rudolph’s time to shine after he was named the Pittsburgh Steelers starting quarterback following an abysmal loss against the Indianapolis Colts on Dec. 17. Even though he hadn’t touched the field since 2021, that didn’t matter. Rudolph helped the Steelers leave Acrisure Stadium victorious after a 34 – 11 blowout to sweep the Cincinnati Bengals. With this win, the Black and Gold still have a slim chance to make the playoffs.

Pittsburgh entered this week looking like a completely different team after losing three straight games.

After a quick defensive stop, the Steelers struck quick with a two-play, 92-yard touchdown drive. On Rudolph’s first throw of the game, he connected a short pass to Wide Receiver, George Pickens, who outran the Bengals secondary straight into the end zone. Bengals Quarterback, Jake Browning, appeared to have a touchdown drive brewing. While in the red zone, however, he threw a questionable throw that was picked off by Cornerback, Patrick Peterson, in their own end zone.

The Steelers marched down the field and turned that interception into a touchdown to build their lead, 14 – 0. A few drives later, Browning was picked off for the second time of the night. This time Safety, Eric Rowe, intercepted the ball and returned it within the Bengals red zone. Pittsburgh capitalized off that turnover with a third touchdown. They added a field goal at the end of the quarter which gave them a commanding 24 – 0 lead going into half.

The Black and Gold dominated both sides of the ball for the entire first half. That dominance continued throughout the rest of the game.

Coming back from half, the Bengals scored their first points of the game after a short one-play drive. Browning found Wide Receiver, Tee Higgins, who evaded the Steelers defense for an 80-yards catch and run touchdown. The Bengals successfully converted a 2-point conversion. However, the Steelers answered right back with a touchdown of their own. Rudolph lobbed a deep pass down the sideline to Pickens for his first multi-touchdown game of the season. Bengals Kicker, Evan McPherson, drilled a 35-yard field goal at the end of the quarter to trail, 31 – 11.

Pittsburgh tallied their third interception of the game early in the fourth but were forced to settle for a field goal. Ahead by 23 points, the Steelers played a more passive game to run out as much of the clock as possible, which helped them walk away with a win.

“We did a great job across the board,” Rudolph said in a post-game interview. “The defense was on fire creating turnovers and giving us short fields…going to carry this moment into next week.”

Story By: Carlin Whalen  (cjw6426@psu.edu)