Steelers QB Mason Rudolph deserves a legitimate shot to start in 2022

Rudolph vs Trubisky in the NFL

Mason Rudolph First 10 Games

In his first 10 games as an NFL starter, Rudolph has 236 completions on 384 attempts for a 61.5% completion rate, 2366 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions for an 80.9 Quarterback Rating. His rushing totals were 21 runs for 42 yards at 2.0 yards per. His record is 5 wins, 4 losses, and 1 tie.

The first 10 games are also virtually all of Mason Rudolph’s NFL career. It is a ridiculously small sample to be making any kind of decision on any player’s ability. In today’s NFL, it is barely past half a season.

Mitch Trubisky’s first 12 games

Trubisky’s first 12 games took place during the 2017 season. He threw 196 completions in 330 attempts for a 59.4% completion rate, 2193, 7 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions for a 77.5 QB rating. He had 41 rushing attempts for 248 yards for 6.0 yards per with 2 TDs. In his first season as a starter, Trubisky had 4 wins and 8 losses.

Trubisky had RB, Jordan Howard who rushed for 1122 yards. The Bears were 16th in rushing. Not great but not bad. In comparison, the 2019 Steelers best running back was James Connor with 464 yards who only played in 10 games. They had a 29th-ranked running game.

Again in almost every category, Rudolph is superior to Trubisky. Even with two fewer games, he has more yards, more touchdowns, and more wins. Trubisky is more of a running quarterback but the reason Rudolph’s rushing numbers are what they are isn’t that he can’t run.

If you watched any of the videos I suggested you can see he’s plenty mobile enough to run a play-action offense. The reason for his rushing totals is he’s a committed and disciplined pocket passer. He doesn’t run at the first hint of pressure. He holds on to the ball, keeps his eyes downfield, and does his level best to deliver a pass.

When the Steelers first signed Trubisky I didn’t think he was an upgrade over Rudolph and the stats back me up.

Soon, I’ll be looking at Rudolph vs. the early career of two Steelers greats. I think the results will surprise you. It will also include some of my initial scouting of Rudolph and where he needs to improve to stake his claim as a high-performing, starting NFL Quarterback.

Go Stillers!