The road to the playoffs just got a little easier for the Cleveland Browns. They began their week trying to bounce back from a loss at the hands of the dismal New York Jets, knowing they would have to defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers to win a spot in the tournament. However, it no longer appears that Ben Roethlisberger has to lay down the shutters. Head coach Mike Tomlin announced Tuesday that the team has decided to rest the 38-year-old when they visit Cleveland, naming rugby quarterback Mason Rudolph as an appetizer for the final season of the regular season.
The Steelers won the AFC North title thanks to a teasing return over the Indianapolis Colts in Week 16, and Tomlin notes that he will now “air” the selection of players after the playoffs. However, the improvised bee week will not apply to everyone, but certainly Roethlisberger – who wants the team at full strength for a potential run in the Super Bowl.
“The vast majority of the guys who play will play,” Tomlin added, according to Andrew Siciliano of NFL Network.
For the Browns, it will be another encounter with Rudolph, after defeating him in Cleveland in 2019 in a game that will live on in the NFL infamous forever. Both Rudolph and All-Pro defensive end Myles Garrett have moved from the fight, as have their teams, and the focus is now on the Browns trying to take advantage of an inexperienced Rudolph, while Rudolph is trying to take advantage of the Browns’ to end playoffs completely.
In the aforementioned 2019 match, Rudolph threw for 221 yards but completed only 23 of 44 passes and set up four interceptions to end the day with a dismal 36.3 passer count. He was also sacked four times and the Browns hit 12 QB hits on him. It will not get any easier for him this time, and especially with so much going on for the Browns and nothing on the line for the Steelers except to brag and guarantee that they will only see Cleveland again in 2021. of their last four games, including one for the Jets, if the Browns do not make the playoffs because they cannot get past Rudolph – many would argue that they never earned there in the first place.
Oddly enough, there is even more pressure on head coach Kevin Stefanski to get it done, as a QB2 stands between him and the team’s first playoff game since 2002.