The playoffs got a little easier for the Cleveland Browns. They started their week trying to bounce back from a loss at the hands of a disappointing New York Jets, knowing they needed to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers to get a seat in the tournament. As it turned out, though, he’s no longer Ben Rothlisberger, for which they’ll need to bat Hatch. Head coach Mike Tomley announced on Tuesday that the team has decided to rest the 38-year-old when they visit Cleveland and name backup quarterback Mason Rudolph as a starter for the final leg of the regular season.
The Steelers won the AFC North title for a huge comeback win over the Indianapolis Colts in 16 weeks, and Tomlin notes that he will now “airmail” selected players into the playoffs. The sporadic bye week won’t boost everyone, but, of course, Rothlisburger – whom the team wants full strength for a potential run in the Super Bowl.
According to Tomly, Andrew Cecilo, “most people will play while playing.” NFL Network.
For the Browns, it will be the second meeting with Rudolph, who beat him in a contest in Cleveland in 2019, which remains forever in the NFL’s notoriety. Both Rudolph and the All-Pro defensive end Miles Garrett have gone on a brawl like their teams, and now the focus is on the Browns, trying to take advantage of the inexperienced Rudolph while Rudolph tries to finish the Browns’ playoff hopes together.
In the above 2019 match, Rudolph threw for 221 yards, but completed only 23 of 44 passes and adopted four interceptions to finish the day with a 36.3 pass pass rating. He was fired four times and the Browns hit 12 QB. Nothing will be easier for him this time around, and not just on the line for the Browns in particular and nothing on the line for the Steelers but for the Sherong right he assured that by 2020 they would not see Cleveland again. One of their last four games, including the Jets, if the Browns fail to make the playoffs because they can’t get past Rudolph – many will argue that they never deserved to be there in the first place.
So, oddly enough, there is more pressure on head coach Kevin Stefansky to complete it, as a Q2, it lies between him and the team’s first playoff appearance since 2002.
