Mason Rudolph: Steelers 'have tunnel vision' when it comes to Ravens

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mason rudolph steelers ravens — Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

When the Steelers upset the Ravens back in early October, Mason Rudolph was buried deep on the depth chart. Sure, the Pittsburgh offense was starting to blink red, but no one called for a quarterback change.

Now, the Steelers are approaching the last game of the regular season. If Pittsburgh makes the playoffs, it’ll be, in part, because of Rudolph and an offense that perked up just in time. The quarterback started the year at third string behind both Kenny Pickett and Mitch Trubisky. Now. he’s the guy, even with Pickett a full participant at practice for the first time since his ankle surgery, Dec. 4.

Rudolph met with the media, Tuesday. And he’s talking the part of a Steelers leader. It remains to be seen if he can do that Saturday in Baltimore when Pittsburgh plays the top-seeded team in the AFC.

“(We) need to be great. That’s why we play,” Rudolph told reporters. “That’s why we all worked as hard as we had the last few weeks trying to win these game,s but put ourselves in the position to make the playoffs. And we’re going to try to control that on Saturday.”

Kenny Pickett is a bystander for Steelers games as Mason Rudolph starts at quarterback. Pickett did go through his first full workout, Tuesday, a month after he suffered a high ankle sprain. (Philip G. Pavely-USA TODAY Sports)

The Steelers, 9-7, must beat the Ravens, then hope either the Jaguars or Bills drop their season finales to secure a wildcard berth. Rudolph helped make the playoffs possible by leading the Steelers to wins over the Bengals amd Seahawks.

In those two games, Rudolph completed 35 of his 51 passes for 564 yards and two touchdowns. The Steelers used the deep pass to surge past the Bengals. Then in Seattle, Pittsburgh played ground and pound behind running backs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren.

The Ravens may do the Steelers a tiny favor by resting several of their starters, including quarterback Lamar Jackson, the favorite for NFL offensive player of the year. The outcome of Baltimore’s game against Pittsburgh does not impact the Ravens top seed.

What does Rudolph think?

“It’s another great opportunity to play a game, so I’m very excited,” said the former Oklahoma State star. “Obviously, we have a lot to play for. So, I’m just focused on having a good day of prep … having a good week of practice and knowing all we can control is our performance, whether we win or lose. We’ve got tunnel vision on that and the rest of the chips will fall where they fall.”