James Conner
We all knew that James Conner wasn’t a running back that was going to average under 3.0 yards per carry, as early stats would indicate. However, he went above and beyond in his best performance of 2019.
The former 2018 Pro Bowl running back may have been a non-factor to start the season, but he was a massive part of the offense against the Bengals on Monday night. Conner led the team in both rushing and receiving. He finished the night with 125 total offensive yards and a touchdown.
Cincinnati’s defense is nothing to ride home about, but Conner’s performance in week 4 gives us some confidence moving forward.
Mason Rudolph
Speaking of players who have improved, we can’t forget about second-year quarterback, Mason Rudolph. Rudolph was plagued with the difficult task of filling Ben Roethlisberger’s shoes for the remainder of the season.
After a disappointing performance against the 49ers in his first NFL start, Rudolph bounced back in a big way against the Bengals in his first home game. He completed 24 of 28 passes for 229 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Randy Fichtner called an excellent game as opposed to last week, and Rudolph executed with no problem. This may have been the confidence-boosting performance Rudolph needed to jump-start his NFL career.
It’s not reasonable to expect these players to continue to improve at such a drastic rate, and the schedule quickly gets more difficult as the Steelers take on the Ravens this Sunday. Let’s hope these players can carry this momentum into week 5.