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It’s safe to say the Steelers didn’t get off to the start they envisioned when this year’s season kicked off, as they dropped four of their first five games (with their only win coming against the hapless Bengals).
Pittsburgh suffered their most notable loss in the second week of the year when Ben Roethlisberger was knocked out of their contest against the Seahawks thanks to an elbow injury that would result in surgery that would ultimately sideline him for the rest of the season.
As a result, the Steelers were forced to turn to the unproven Mason Rudolph, who managed to hold his own for a few weeks (aside from missing a game due to a concussion) until things came crumbling down when he threw four interceptions during a 21-7 loss to the Browns.
Pittsburgh gave the quarterback a chance to redeem himself on Sunday but he was ultimately replaced by Devlin Hodges after an uninspiring start, and now, it appears the team has decided to move in a different direction, as Ian Rapoport reports Rudolph has been benched in favor of the rookie.
#Steelers coach Mike Tomlin makes it official, announcing that QB Devlin Hodges will start this week against the #Browns. Mason Rudolph to the bench. 🦆
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 26, 2019
Mike Tomlin wasn’t shy about criticizing Rudolph after Sunday’s game and said the QB simply “wasn’t doing enough,” and on Tuesday, he didn’t exactly mince words when he was asked about what sparked his decision.
Why Devlin Hodges?
Tomlin: "He has not killed us."
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) November 26, 2019
Hodges is relatively unproven but did manage to win his first career start when he was tapped to play against the Chargers while Rudolph was in concussion protocol, and while he did manage to lead the Steelers to a comeback victory against the Bengals, he’ll face a bit more of a challenge in their showdown against the Browns on Sunday.