Pro Football Focus highlights how Mason Rudolph showed enough to have Steelers fans excited

It feels like an eternity since the Pittsburgh Steelers last played, and this is due to the crazy news week which has taken place in the 412 area code. First, Ben Roethlisberger’s season ended almost as quick as it began, the team then makes a blockbuster trade for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and the chips have begun to fall since then.

Hard to even think back to the Week 2 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, but it is important to look back before looking forward.

Some fans are distraught over losing Roethlisberger for the season, and rightfully so. There are also fans who have already thrown the towel in on 2019, and are ready to just move on to 2020. After all, is Mason Rudolph really going to be able to lead this team to anything more than just a couple moral victories?

Some might agree, but the folks at Pro Football Focus (PFF) saw a lot in Rudolph in the half he played vs. Seattle in a 28-26 loss.

Check out the analysis from PFF below:

You lose Ben Roethlisberger and your hopes and dreams fade away, right? Well, Mason Rudolph offered some consolation if the injury forces Big Ben to miss games; he shows a level of poise and accuracy you’d hope for but not necessarily expect from your backup quarterback. On the evidence of this cameo, the Steelers traded away the right backup signal-caller.

Alejandro Villanueva was excellent today. He is rarely beaten in a league where playing left tackle has never seemed harder. More difficult tasks will await him, but he would be a reassuring presence on any team.

The Seahawks had a plan early on, targeting D.K. Metcalf in coverage against Steven Nelson. They liked it so much they tried it again. And again. And again. Only after working early, it never worked again and instead showcased an excellent display of competing at the catch point from Nelson, who ended up winning this matchup.

There will be ups and downs for most rookies, and Devin Bush is no different. A couple of bad angles and missed tackles highlighted an inconsistent display in this one.

It is worth noting this was written before the news of Roethlisberger’s season being over due to an elbow injury, but what they said regarding Rudolph was spot on. He showed a tremendous amount of poise in the pocket, and an ability to move the offense — something Roethlisberger, while injured, failed to do in the first 6 quarters of the season.

The other notes on the report were also extremely uplifting after a second straight loss. Alejandro Villanueva’s bounce back performance and Steven Nelson standing tall against DK Metcalf were bright spots for the Steelers last week. Devin Bush has been streaky, but that is to be expected for any rookie in the league, let alone one playing the inside linebacker position almost immediately.

Stay tuned to BTSC for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they prepare for the San Francisco 49ers in Week 3.