The Pittsburgh Steelers are dealing with a lot of questions going into their Week 12 matchup against the Chicago Bears. The biggest of which is whether or not Aaron Rodgers is going to play. He’s dealing with a wrist injury to his non-throwing hand. While he reportedly looked good in practice Thursday, it’s still up in the air if he’ll play. The Steelers could opt to err on the side of caution and start Mason Rudolph in Chicago. However, former NFL quarterback Chase Daniel thinks that would spell disaster for Pittsburgh.
“Aaron Rodgers, is he healthy?” Daniel asked recently on his YouTube channel. “Does he play? Mike Tomlin’s been really mum on that. That matters to me in this game. Even though Aaron Rodgers is not playing great, the Steelers are sort of rolling. Is he playing, is he not? I think that’s the deciding factor. Here’s what I do know about the Chicago Bears. They have three guys in the top four in interceptions in the league.
“They take the ball away better than anyone in this league, specifically interceptions. Aaron Rodgers does not throw a lot of interceptions. If the backup plays, Mason Rudolph, there’s no way in chance the Bears are losing this game.”
Rudolph isn’t a bad option to have as a backup. He’s been in the league since 2018, spending most of that time with the Steelers. Therefore, they’ve got a lot of familiarity with him.
He’s come in and won games for them before, too. Rudolph played fine last Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals. He threw for 127 yards and one touchdown in the Steelers’ 34-12 win. It wasn’t spectacular, but he didn’t make any major mistakes either. Rudolph also came in for the Steelers in 2023 and helped them win their final three games of the season to make the playoffs.
Therefore, the Steelers aren’t hopeless without Rodgers this week. However, Daniel makes a good point about the Bears’ defense potentially being a problem for Rudolph. That unit leads the NFL in takeaways with 22, and that includes 15 interceptions, which also leads the league.
Safety Kevin Byard III has five interceptions, while corner Nashon Wright and linebacker Tremaine Edmunds each have four. It’s an opportunistic group. Protecting the football will be key this week.
That might make it worth having Rodgers suit up. He has a history of not throwing interceptions. While he’s thrown seven picks this season, some of those haven’t been his fault. The Steelers will have to decide who gives them a better chance at victory: Rudolph or an injured Rodgers. It’s not an easy decision, although they’ve expressed a lot of confidence in Rudolph in the past.
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