3 winners and 2 losers from Steelers 24-22 loss vs. Browns

Winner: Mason Rudolph

Anyone that says Mason Rudolph can’t be at least an efficient backup in this league is kidding themselves. He had his struggles last season, and he wasn’t perfect against the Browns, but Rudolph played some really good football in week 7. He completed a couple of nice deep balls, executed the short game efficiently, and delivered some strikes to the end zone when needed.

Even his interception wasn’t the end of the world, as he had a defender in his face when he tried to force the pass. Again, he wasn’t perfect, but throwing for over 300 yards is a testament to the fact that he can play in this league. When given a decent offense to command, Rudolph showed that he has what it takes to be a decent quarterback this week.

Moving forward, the Steelers should feel far more confident with Rudolph as their backup than they did earlier. As long as the offensive play calling is ok, Rudolph can succeed with the proper talent around him. Does this mean he has to be the Steelers quarterback of the future? No, but there is a real chance he could be the starter for a few years as they look to find that guy. Rudolph put a lot of doubt to rest this week, and he should be praised for his solid play as a reserve.

This loss went about just as well as the Steelers could have hoped for. Their young reserves looked solid and none of their starters seemed to suffer a major injury. Now, the team can focus on beating the Browns in the playoffs after resting quite a few of their starters. A loss is never a good thing, but the Steelers can take quite a few positive trends out of their final game from the 2020 regular season.