Steelers leave door cracked for QB Mitchell Trubisky to be benched

The Steelers (7-6) are rolling with Mitchell Trubisky as their starting quarterback once again in Week 15. However, after struggling a week ago against the 3-10 Patriots, his leash seems a little bit shorter this time around. 

Head coach Mike Tomlin said the team is sticking with Trubisky as its starter since he "picked up his play" throughout last week's loss and says "it's reasonable to expect him to get better against the Colts (7-6)" this week.

But if the seven-year veteran, who completed 22-of-35 for just 190 yards, one touchdown and one interception last week, struggles again, Pittsburgh may just turn to third string QB Mason Rudolph.

Rudolph, a third-round pick by the Steelers in 2018, has not panned out as they were likely hoping when they drafted him. But he is still arguably the best third-string quarterback on any roster in the NFL with 2,366 yards, 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in his career.

Rudolph's winning record as a starter (5-4-1) is nothing to look past, either, although Tomlin still believes his path to the field on Saturday is still a bit of a long shot.

"He just hasn't had a lot of exposure in terms of in-helmet prep," Tomlin told reporters. "He'll get an opportunity to get some work and we'll evaluate that work and evaluate his readiness."

Tomlin's willingness to give Rudolph some extra work and reps in practice this week is interesting, however. It likely means he isn't completely opposed to benching Trubisky if Pittsburgh finds itself trailing Indianapolis this weekend.

The Steelers are currently the No. 6 seed in the playoffs, but another costly loss could have them falling out of them. They have no excuses on offense once again as the Colts are allowing the fourth-most points per game (25.4) in the league and it starts with Trubisky.