During the trade deadline this season, the Pittsburgh Steelers were expected to add another wide receiver to complement DK Metcalf. Instead, they turned their attention to the defense and added ex-New England Patriots safety Kyle Dugger. The 6’2”, 220-pound secondary player appears to possibly be the steal of the trade period.
In Pittsburgh’s 34-12 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in week 11, Dugger intercepted Joe Flacco in the third quarter and raced 73 yards to the house, improving Pittsburgh’s lead at the time from 13-9 to 20-9 and at that point it was game over. The Bengals would add a late field to goal to make the final score, but it was too little too late. For Dugger, adding him to the Steelers secondary and teaming him with Joey Porter Jr., Jalen Ramsey, Brandin Echols, James Pierre, and Jabrill Peppers, all the sudden makes Pittsburgh’s corners and safeties more dangerous.
While making only three solo tackles, Dugger also defended two passes, his pick six of Flacco represents his fourth career defensive touchdown and that is the third most in the league since 2020, Dugger’s rookie season. He is behind DaRon Bland who has six, and Kenny Moore II with five. Unlike the last meeting between these two teams, the Pittsburgh defense held Flacco and his arsenal of weapons in check. Flacco, Chase Brown, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins destroyed the Steelers defense back in October. Not this time.
Flacco threw the ball 40 times and completed only 23. He was held under 200 yards passing (199) and while sacked just once, his quarterback ratings was a dismal 68.6. Chase Brown was effective with 99 yards rushing but that was helped by one long 35-yard run. The two receivers that gave the Pittsburgh secondary fits that last time out came nowhere near the production they had in the previous encounter.
Tee Higgins was the leading receiver with just 63 yards on only three receptions. He also scored Cincinnati’s only touchdown. The bigger threat, Ja’Marr Chase, also had only three receptions and for only 30 yards. He was targeted 10 times so credit to the Steelers secondary. This was a huge victory for the Steelers given that the Baltimore Ravens held off the Cleveland Browns to stay within one game of Pittsburgh.
As for the Steelers offense, Aaron Rodgers picked up where he left off a week before in Los Angeles by looking old and apprehensive. Completing only nine of 15 passes, his first half total was a mere 116 yards passing. He did throw one touchdown pass, however in 30 minutes of play his quarterback rating was over 100 at 106.5. Then came the injury. A wrist injury took Rodgers out of the game and at the start of the third quarter, Mason Rudolph took over.
Before the Steelers signed Aaron Rodgers and was entertaining that idea, I believed they should have made Mason Rudolph the starter. They had Skyler Thompson as a backup and drafted Will Howard, national champion quarterback out of Ohio State. But in came Rodgers and while he got off to a decent start, in past weeks he appears to be declining.
Mason Rudolph proved my belief in relief of Rodgers facing the Bengals defense. At least for one game. Rudolph looked like he was in command like as if he had been playing all season. He was sharp and on 16 passes, he missed on just four. He surpassed the passing yardage Rodgers had accumulated in the first half by an additional 11 yards and threw for a touchdown as well. His average yards per completion was better than A-Rod’s (7.9-7.7) and his quarterback rating higher as well with a 118.5 mark.
So, now what happens? If Aaron Rodgers can’t play in Chicago in the forthcoming week 12 of the season, then it will be Mason Rudolph again. Having saved the Steelers season from Kenny Pickett three seasons ago, Rudolph led the Steelers offense into the playoffs and despite a first-round loss to Buffalo, he proved to be the better quarterback than Pickett was who has since then been on three different teams.
Now, let’s say it is Rudolph as the starter in the next game. What happens if he balls out? Does Mike Tomlin bring back Rodgers when he is healthy? Typically, the belief is never take the ball away from the hot hand. Does Tomlin let A-Rod back under center just because of his reputation and history? Or is Rodgers truly on the decline. Every game is crucial from this point forward especially with two games against the Ravens ahead. Tomlin can take no chances on losing any of the remaining games. Another concern is whether Tomlin will feel the pressure from his bosses in having to play Aaron Rodgers because he was their main focus coming into the season. This remains to be seen especially if A-Rod remains sidelined because of his wrist.
On a final note, Jaylen Ramsey was tossed from the Bengals game after he threw a punch at Ja’Marr Chase. This after the two players exchanged verbal taunts but on replay of the incident, you can clearly see Chase spitting in the direction of Ramsey. When that happens, Ramsey’s response can be expected. With that said, the Steelers move from one animal to the next. Week 13 has them facing a group of Bears.
