It's Duck season in Pittsburgh.
Mike Tomlin said Tuesday rookie Devlin 'Duck' Hodges would start over Mason Rudolph in the Steelers' Week 13 matchup against the Browns after replacing him just after halftime of the team's win last Sunday at Cincinnati.
Rudolph had thrown five interceptions in his past six quarters before being pulled from the 16-10 win over the Bengals after a three-and-out on the opening possession of the second half. The Steelers trailed, 7-3, at the time.
"We met as a staff, we've decided that we're going to start Duck this week," Tomlin said. "Really, the decision is clear for us and [there are] some really clear reasons why. Like I talked about after the game, I thought he provided us a spark in-game. I'm hopeful that he's capable of continuing to provide that spark as we step into this stadium."
Hodges came in and connected on a 79-yard touchdown to James Washington on his second pass attempt. Hodges finished 5 of 11 for 118 yards and a touchdown.
Rudolph, who had started all but one game since taking over for injured Ben Roethlisberger after halftime of the Steelers' Week 2 loss to the Seahawks, had nine touchdown passes and just three interceptions in his first six starts. But he had thrown one touchdown pass and five interceptions in the past two games as the Steelers played the majority of those without leading rusher James Conner and receptions leader JuJu Smith-Schuster.
Four of those interceptions came two weeks ago in a 21-7 loss at Cleveland that ended with an ugly brawl that started with Rudolph become entangled with Browns defensive end Myles Garrett. Garrett ripped the helmet from Rudolph's head and swung it in an arc, hitting the Steelers quarterback with it.
Last week, Garrett accused Rudolph of using a racial slur during the fight, a charge Rudolph and the Steelers vehemently denied. The NFL looked into the accusations and found no evidence it had occurred.
Tomlin said Rudolph had a good week of practice last week and wouldn't blame the fallout from the incident -- which included Rudolph receiving a $50,000 fine and Garrett being suspended for the remainder of the season -- for his performance against the Bengals.
"I got a lot of patience for young guys, but one thing we need to do is take care of the ball. So (that was) one of the reasons why we gave Devlin an opportunity in Cincy," he said. "Once given that opportunity, he took care of the ball and provided a spark."
But he did admit there were some extenuating circumstances regarding the players the Steelers were and have been missing in recent games.
"In recent quarters of action, we've really been bogged down and it's due to a lot of things. It goes beyond just Mason and his performance. He's been in and out of the lineup, some running backs and offensive lineman have been in and out of the lineup," Tomlin said. "We've missed some guys at receiver, specifically in the last game, the combination of playing without (Smith-Schuster and Conner) hurt us."
Tomlin's assessment of Hodges' play thus far this season?
"He has not killed us," Tomlin said, only partly joking.
Hodges has played a total of eight quarters this season, entering a Week 5 loss to the Ravens in the third quarter after Rudolph had suffered a concussion on a hit to the head by Earl Thomas.
The former Samford star then started the Steelers' 24-17 win over the Chargers in Los Angeles the following week, throwing for 132 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
For the season, he's completed 27 of 40 passes for 318 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, a passer rating of 97.7.
"There's going to be enough pressure on Devlin just performing, so I'm not going to add to it by talking about expectations," Tomlin said. "I expect him to not kill us."
But, Tomlin noted that just because he's going to Hodges now, it doesn't mean the Steelers are giving up on Rudolph, a third-round pick a year ago.
"Not only within Mason's game, but within our offensive unit, in recent quarters, we've been bogged down. I know a lot of it has to do with player availability or lack thereof. Things don't happen in a vacuum. I meant what I said when I said I thought Devlin might provide us with a spark. It might not necessarily mean anything with Mason and the overall trajectory of his career or what it will even mean to us next week. We're just focused on putting ourselves in the best position to win this game, and we'll worry about next week next week."
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