The Pittsburgh Steelers enter this game with a lot of confidence in their young quarterback, Mason Rudolph. It goes without saying that there is also some hesitation, which always comes with anything that you’ve never done before. The second-year quarterback may have played the game all his life, but he is set to make the first start in his NFL career. That’s a big deal.
One thing that comforts the coaching staff, though, is that they know he’s put in the work. It’s one of the defining traits that originally attracted them to Rudolph when he was coming out of Oklahoma State, and it’s something that offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Randy Fichtner has continued to observe in his young project.