Week 17 Blog: Happy and bright

A special gift: Santa arrived around the world in the last 24 hours, but he delivered for Steelers Nation on Saturd

ay night when the team defeated the Bengals, 34-11, at Acrisure Stadium. Quarterback Mason Rudolph, making his

first start since 2021, led the team completing 17 of 27 passes for 290 yards and a touchdown. Rudolph got a special

gift after the game when one of the teamand#039;s defensive captains, Cameron Heyward, gave him the game ball.

andquot;It was great,andquot; said Rudolph. andquot;Cam is our leader of our team, and he was very kind. Such a

competitor. I don’t know, he does everything right. nice guy So that meant a lot. It was special. Yeah, Iand#039;m

not one for speeches, so I just kept it quick, broke it down.andquot; For Heyward, it was a no-brainer giving Rudolph

the ball. andquot;Mason was ready for the moment,andquot; said Heyward. andquot;Three games weand#039;ve

lost in a row. Personally, I just felt like with everything going on, Mason attacked. There wasnand#039;t any sitting

back and letting things happen. He went out there and attacked the game. You saw a couple of times with third-and-

1 throwing it deep and giving guys a chance.andquot; Rudolph might have been ready for the moment, but getting

the game ball, that was a gift he didnand#039;t expect. When asked if it was his favorite Christmas present, he

recalled one from his childhood, but held this one pretty high. andquot;I got a treehouse when I was 12,andquot; said

Rudolph. andquot;This is definitely up there.andquot;

Next man up: The 2023 season was a year of the next man up for the Steelers, especially in the middle of the

defensive game. That mindset was on display Saturday against the Bengals. The Steelers lost inside linebacker Kwon

Alexander and Cole Holcomb for the season, and starter Elandon Roberts left the game with a chest injury. Safely,

Keanu Neal is on the reserve/injured list and Minkah Fitzpatrick sat out the game with an injury. With so much

missing, Eric Rowe, Myles Jack were both up and back from the practice squad on game day, and Mykal Walker, who

saw a lot of playing time. andquot;We have capable men who come in and do the work for us,andquot; linebacker

Alex Highsmith said. andquot;Myles Jack and Mykal and everyone who came in played well today. Mark (Robinson)

, everyone. Just because the guys are stepping up and we trust the guys who will do it.andquot; In addition,

cornerback Patrick Peterson moved from the regular position to safety to plug the holes. andquot;Itand#039;s

needed and appreciated,andquot; Tomlin said. andquot;Making these guys was a challenge, but kudos to them.

Itand#039;s also considered getting players, veteran players. The size of today’s training squad, the fact that you can

have experienced players. We just settled on the attrition component of the game. andquot;Can’t say enough about

the contributions of those guys, especially Pat Peterson and Eric Rowe, who made the safety in our situation.

andquot;Both boys played every down. Did a hell of a job communicating solidly all week and provided some

lopsided plays in the form of turnovers.andquot; Peterson played 100 percent of the quarterback’s snaps without

batting an eye. andquot;They did a great job for us,andquot; said Highsmith. andquot;E-Rowe, for those guys to

come out and do what they’ve been doing all game, show how unselfish this team is, guys just go out and do whatever

they can to help us win. So shout out to these guys doing their thing.andquot;