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The Pittsburgh Steelers had high hopes for the 2019 season, and rightfully so. Sure, they would be without Antonio Brown, but there was plenty of reason to be excited for the upcoming season.
A fresh start resulted in a flat performance in Week 1, but after losing the New England Patriots in the season opener, things got worse in Week 2. After Ben Roethlisberger was lost for the season with an elbow injury, the Steelers turned to Mason Rudolph in Week 3.
The fan base was both anxious and excited to see what the young quarterback could do when given the chance, and needless to say there were some growing pains during the 24-20 Week 3 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
While many in the fan base are turning their backs on Rudolph claiming he doesn’t have “it” to be the team’s future at the position, the Steelers are sticking behind their quarterback — and rightfully so.
Check out what Guard Ramon Foster told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN:
Steelers OG Ramon Foster on teams stacking the box: "At one point (Rudolph's) going to start staggering, and then the are going to drop back...Gotta lot of faith in Mason. I don't question him one bit."
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) September 23, 2019
Foster would go on talking about how it isn’t as if the Steelers are getting blown out every week, as well as it not being all on one player for the 0-3 start.
Steelers OG Ramon Foster: "It's not like we're out here just getting blown out and it's a poop show. What we're dealing with right now is finding our identity. That takes some time sometimes." Added he's "all in on this year with Mason and that's just how we're gonna live."
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) September 23, 2019
Clearly the Steelers are standing behind Rudolph, and to hear anything else coming out of the locker room at any time would be a staggering development. But it does beg the question what is really going on with this football team?
After the game the sentiment was how the team simply isn’t playing in unison together. When the offense is struggling, the defense is dominant. When the offense starts moving, the defense falls flat.
This from Brooke Pryor of ESPN:
Steelers on both sides of the ball took the blame for not picking the other up in the loss:
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) September 23, 2019
Heyward: We didn’t get off the field enough. Sometimes we’ve just got to complement our offense.
DeCastro: We just didn’t complement the defense very well all day.
The Steelers now have the tall task of trying to turn their season around one game at a time. No longer should fans concern themselves with anything other than the next game on the schedule. In that regard, the next game is a prime time affair with the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 4. Both teams enter the game with 0-3 records, someone has to win, right?!