On Dancer, On Prancer, On... Rudolph?

It seems almost too good to be true that right at the holiday season, Rudolph the red-nosed quarterback has led an offensive renaissance in Pittsburgh. The Steelers have scored 30+ points in back-to-back games, something that hasn’t happened in what feels like a decade. Mason has also shown the willingness to let the ball go downfield, even completing it to our team, unlike…you know.  And while it has been fun to watch, it has raised a lot of questions about the future of the QB position in Pittsburgh. 

First and foremost. I am incredibly happy for Rudolph. He was drafted and was met with a lot of scrutiny by Big Ben, and his opportunities to play were few and far between. During two of those rare starts, he ended up losing his face mask and the victim of what appeared to be assault with a helmet by current Man of the Year nominee, Myles Garrett. Since then, he fell to not even dressing out last year, and being the “break glass in case of emergency” quarterback. Well, the glass is broken. Through all of that, Mason has come in and played the best football of his career and made some incredible throws. He has shown poise in the pocket, accuracy, and a great deep ball.

However, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. First of all, no one can claim that they knew all along that Mason was going to have this kind of performance in his surprising starts. Not even you Kaboly. Not even you. The reality is, that Mason is playing with house money. He was never supposed to start, his football career was most likely over after the season, and there was a reason for that. Not only is the best QB play this season, but it’s also the best Rudolph had looked in his career. This small sample size is not enough to say he should be the future. Remember Landry Jones? Duck Hodges? Backups have success in relief roles pretty regularly in this league. 

It also does not mean that the Steelers would be guaranteed playoff contenders had Mason been QB2 from the start. Let’s not wear rose-colored glasses just because Mason is playing so well. Arizona and New England are costly losses but retroactively saying Mason would have won them isn’t true. 

What Mason's success also doesn’t mean, is that there has been some woeful mismanagement when it comes to Kenny Pickett. Kenny has been injury-prone this year, and the only one that rushes Kenny back is Kenny. Point the finger at Tomlin for rushing Kenny back and the bailing on him is a bit ridiculous. Kenny hasn’t earned the right to simply return as the starter now that he is healthy. Even as someone who comes to the defense of Kenny, it’s just the truth. Kenny shouldn’t be the presumed starter because he hasn’t done enough to deserve that, especially with the success Mason is having. While I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop with Mason, and for him to return to earth, he should be the starter this week. 

All this means, is that the franchise QB probably is not on the roster. It certainly isn’t Mitch, the jury is out on Kenny, and just because Mason has played out of his mind the last two weeks does not mean he should get the keys to the team. I do think he should get his fair shot in the off-season, but the Steelers should try and make a trade for a new QB, or draft another one, and make one of them earn the starting spot. If any of them have an issue with that they are more than welcome to be released.