The Steelers needed a come from behind performance to secure victory against the Bengals
The Steelers were victorious against the Bengals, but the manner in which we won could not have been any more surreal. Our rookie, undrafted free-agent quarterback, Devlin Hodges, swooped in to save the day after replacing Mason Rudolph, who was pulled in the third quarter. More on that shortly.
I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that Hodges saved the day for the Steelers. Down 3-7 in the third quarter, Hodges came in and connected with James Washington, Rudolph’s teammate at Oklahoma State, for a 79 yard TD pass to take the lead. The pass was spot on and Washington did the rest.
At that moment, Hodges provided a spark that not only the offense needed but the entire team needed as well. That spark is what propelled the Steelers to victory and what may be just what the doctor ordered going forward. Not taking anything away from Rudolph, but the offense just wasn’t clicking when he was in there.
The aforementioned spark is what Mike Tomlin addresses in his weekly press conference where he announced that ‘Duck’ will start against the Cleveland Browns. If you missed it, you can click on the link above. Does this decision to start Hodges equate to the Steelers losing faith in Rudolph?
I’m not sure it does, but the bottom line is this: We needed to secure victory against the Bengals, Tomlin made a call to the bullpen, so to speak, and it worked in the Steelers favor. Honestly, that’s all I need to know.
Let’s take a look at how the offense fared against the Bengals.
The Steelers fourth-round pick reinvigorated the rushing attack against the Bengals
It was refreshing to see the Steelers run the ball with effectiveness and with alacrity against the Bengals. Leading the charge was Benny Snell Jr., the fourth-round pick in the 2019 draft. Snell had a highly productive college career at the University of Kentucky and very nearly had his first 100-yard rushing game as a pro.
According to the official website of the NFL, Snell carried the ball 21 times for 98 yards, oh so close to that magical, triple-digit number. He also added 1 catch for 5 yards. Coming off an injury, it was good to see him contribute to the cause in a winning performance.
As a team, the Steelers ran the ball for 160 yards. While Snell was the leading rusher, the newly signed Kerrith Whyte, a former practice squad player for the Chicago Bears, was the second-leading rusher. Whyte provided 43 yards on only 6 carries, for an average of 7.2 yards per carry.
That’s pretty impressive for a player who was just signed. Nothing like ‘sink or swim’, huh? I realize it was only one game, but if Whyte can continue to be productive as the ‘change of pace back’, so to speak, the Steelers will have a trident in the backfield that, quite frankly, we have not had in quite some time.
The ability to run the ball effectively means that the offense is able to sustain drives, to convert third-downs and to possess the ball longer than the opponent ( possesses the ball). Against the Bengals, the Steelers converted third-downs at a clip fo 31%, which is still not good, but we did win the time of possession battle by nearly 10 minutes.
We possessed the ball for 34 minutes and 40 seconds; the Bengals possessed the ball for 25 minutes and 20 seconds. We won; the Bengals lost. Good things tend to happen when the offense wins the time of possession battle.
Let’s talk about the performance of Hodges, shall we?
The Steelers turned to an undrafted, rookie free-agent quarterback to save the day
It was a ‘gutsy’ decision by Tomlin to pull Rudolph in the third quarter, but it was a necessary decision. The Steelers offense up to that point had produced 3 points on 5 possessions, one of which resulted in an INT. You generally don’t win football games with 3 points on 5 possessions.
The Bengals game was a game the Steelers needed to win for three reasons: First, the Bengals play in our division, so a division win is important. Second, the Bengals play in our conference, so a conference win is important. Third, we had to keep pace in the playoff race, which we did with the win.
After replacing Rudolph, Hodges finished his day 5 for 11 for 118 yards and 1 TD pass. That TD pass to Washington was huge because we were losing at that point. Hodges let it rip and Washington did the rest If you didn’t see it, here it is: Washington’s TD
Prior to the TD pass to Washington, the offense just wasn’t moving the ball. I don’t think that is a referendum on Rudolph, per se, but you can’t deny the fact that once Hodges was inserted into the game, the offense got going.
Look, I personally do not care who the Steelers QB is, provided we are winning. The reality is this: The offense is currently and still ranked 28th in average yards per game. That is awful, let’s be honest and let’s hope that Hodges can provide another spark against the Browns.
Let’s now turn our attention to the defensive side of the ball.
The Steelers former first-round pick provides a ‘splash’ play to aid in sealing the victory against the Bengals
So there’ s nothing like saving the best for last, right? That is exactly what the Steelers ‘D’ did against the Bengals. After taking the lead late in the fourth quarter, the Bengals took possession of the ball; Bud Dupree, our former first-round pick, then took said ball away in the form of a strip sack-fumble, which Dupree also recovered.
You gotta like when a player gets the sack, forces a fumble and recovers it himself. That’s the definition of a trifecta for a defensive player. Dupree’s sack was one of four sacks the defense was able to generate. With those four sacks, the Steelers defense is currently ranked 3rd best in that category.
The defense gave up 10 points to the Bengals. They are currently ranked 8th best in that category, allowing an average of 19.3 points per game. It’s also interesting to note that the Steelers defense held the Bengals to 244 total yards, allowed a 16% third-down conversion rate and held the Bengals to a time of possession of 25 minutes and 20 seconds.
I really can’t extol the defense enough for what they have been able to accomplish this season. I think it’s fair to say that without the sacks, the forced fumbles and the interceptions, the Steelers would be in trouble right now.
Of course, none of the aforementioned stats mean anything if the Steelers can’t keep the momentum going as we push forward toward a potential playoff spot.
The Steelers secured a much need victory against the Bengals thanks to an unlikely source, but can we keep the victory train on the tracks?
The Steelers earned a win against the Bengals on the strength of the 7th best overall defense in the NFL. That has been the recipe for success all season long. The Steelers offense needed a spark and got one in the form of Hodges, the undrafted, rookie free-agent QB from Samford.
The Steelers sit at 6 wins and 5 losses on the season, which is, frankly, remarkable given all of the adversity with which we have had to deal this season. Sadly, the NFL is a week-to-week league, so if the Steelers can’t keep the ‘winning’ train on the tracks, it will all be for naught. Here’s to keep the train on the tracks.