The Pittsburgh Steelers are in a weird, pretty unpredictable spot. They are fighting for their playoff lives in the last week of the regular season in 2023, with Mason Rudolph leading the charge. Rudolph has had the highest passer rating in the NFL this season amongst qualified quarterbacks. Granted, he has only started two games. However, he has played better than anyone could have expected.
Steelers' Mason Rudolph Reveals How He Likes To Mess With TJ Watt
The surging new starting quarterback for the Steelers joked around during his press conference on Tuesday, and revealed how he likes to mess with superstar, TJ Watt. Rudolph hasn't had the best career with the Steelers, but he has been around the organization for a while. He was drafted in the third-round of the 2018 NFL Draft and is playing in his sixth season in Pittsburgh. Since Rudolph is one of the longer-tenured Steelers, he has built some great relationships around the organization. One of these great relationships is with Watt, who was drafted just one season before Rudolph. The two have spent the last six years together, and their closeness is described perfectly in this story told by Rudolph during his press conference.
"Sometimes in the parking lot, like on a off day, he'll be a little fool and he'll park kind of out there at the end of a row kind of on the median. And so, I sent a picture to Derek [Watt] and I said, 'Guy signs a big contract and he's parking wherever he wants to now.' But yeah, just stuff like that because I know it really hurts him deep down because he is a perfectionist. But outside of that, he doesn't really do a whole lot wrong."
It's nice to hear how good of chemistry the Steelers players have regardless of where they stand on the team. Up until two weeks ago, Rudolph was the team's emergency quarterback who barely got any reps during practice. Despite that, he still was close enough with the team's best player to make fun of him to one of his siblings. Derek Watt played fullback for the Steelers from 2020 through 2022, so he was also close with Rudolph.
Both Rudolph and Watt have had quite an interesting last couple of weeks. The Steelers are on a two-game win streak, Rudolph has played exceptionally, and Watt was just named the Steelers team MVP for the fourth-consecutive year. Watt has had a great season, which was expected from a player of his caliber. He is firmly near the top of the race for the NFL's Defensive Player Of The Year Award as he has 17 sacks on the year, a touchdown, an interception, four forced fumbles and 60 total tackles.
Rudolph, on the other hand, has out-performed everyone's expectations. He wasn't even supposed to see the field for the Steelers in 2023, yet here he is preparing for Week 18 in what will be his third start of the season. The Steelers are 2-0 in games started by Rudolph in 2023, and he has looked spectacular as he has thrown for 567 yards and two touchdowns with zero turnovers. Many Steelers fans were skeptical to see that Rudolph would be starting due to his time starting for the team back in 2019 and other spot starts throughout his career, but he has been a pleasant surprise.
Rudolph and the Steelers will be taking on the Baltimore Ravens in Week 18 of the 2023 season, and the game is a must-win if the Steelers want to have a shot at making the postseason. In order to clinch a spot as the seventh-seed, the Steelers will need to win in Baltimore, and hope for a loss by either the Buffalo Bills or the Jacksonville Jaguars. There are other scenarios in which the Steelers can clinch a playoff spot, but those are the most realistic.
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