The Pittsburgh Steelers lost Aaron Rodgers in their Week 11 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. The veteran quarterback hurt his wrist near the end of the second quarter, and that caused him to miss the second half. Mason Rudolph came in for him, and he played alright. The Steelers’ offense still struggled, but Rudolph didn’t make any major mistakes. However, former NFL linebacker Emmanuel Acho doesn’t believe that the Steelers can weather this storm.
“The Steelers’ present and the Steelers’ future is completely tanked off this Aaron Rodgers injury,” Acho said recently on his Speakeasy podcast. “I’m not depending on Aaron Rodgers in the future because he’s already a 41-year-old man, I think 42 in December, and he’s injury prone. He’s gotten hurt two of his last four years, legitimate injuries.
“And in the present, the Baltimore Ravens are .500, in case we forgot. If you’re the Steelers, I’m both worried about today and I’m worried about tomorrow with this injury. The Steelers’ season is over. You’re not winning anything legitimate with Mason Rudolph, and you’re not winning anything legitimate with a scared Aaron Rodgers.”
To be clear, there’s no official ruling on Rodgers’ injury. He’s still undergoing tests to determine its severity. While he could miss time, it doesn’t seem like he’d be out for an extended stretch. Also, it sounds like there’s a chance that he could play through the injury.
Is the Steelers’ season over if Rodgers doesn’t play? No. Rudolph is a backup, but he’s done well starting for the Steelers in the past. He helped them make the playoffs in 2023, starting their final three games of the season and leading them to victory in each contest. In the short-term, the Steelers could do worse at quarterback than Rudolph.
Additionally, Rodgers might not miss any time, and it’s hard to say how he would look playing with this injury. It’s not to his throwing hand, which helps. The Steelers’ offense might be able to hide his deficiencies, and the team could rely on its defense, too. That worked for them against the Bengals.
The Steelers are in first place in their division right now. It’s true that the Ravens are only one game behind them, but the Steelers are on top at the moment. Baltimore hasn’t been perfect this year, either.
The Steelers’ next four games are against the Chicago Bears, Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens, and Miami Dolphins. The Bears and Bills both are 7-3, but they’re beatable. The Steelers could win those games under the right circumstances. Also, the Dolphins have been one of the worst teams in the NFL, currently sitting at 4-7.
Really, the Steelers’ playoff hopes could come down to their two games against the Ravens. If they win both those games, they should have a good chance at finishing in first place in the AFC North. For what it’s worth, Rudolph is 1-1 in his career as a starter against the Ravens, although he left that loss with an injury. We’ll see if he has to suit up against them again.
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