The Pittsburgh Steelers are going through it right now.
Following back-to-back losses to two-win teams, they couldn’t keep up with Gardner Minshew and the Indianapolis Colts to lose their third game in a row.
Notably, they’re now 1-3 since firing OC Matt Canada, and they’re actually averaging two fewer points without him.
A lot of that may have had to do with the fact that Kenny Pickett has been out with an ankle injury, and Mitch Trubisky has been less than ideal as his replacement.
Trubisky has been out there for the majority of their last three losses, which is why it’s far from a surprise to see that HC Mike Tomlin has now announced that Trubisky will head back to the bench and they’ll turn to Mason Rudolph for Week 16’s divisional clash with the Cincinnati Bengals, according to Ian Rapoport.
The #Steelers are benching QB Mitch Trubisky and going with Mason Rudolph this week, coach Mike Tomlin announced.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 18, 2023
There was a time when some people thought Rudolph was going to take the reins of the offense from Ben Roethlisberger, but he failed to impress when given the chance.
Nonetheless, after watching Trubisky put their playoff hope at serious risk, something will have to change while Pickett continues to work his way back on the field.
The Steelers are currently sitting on a 7-7 record and at the bottom of the AFC North.
And while they can still make the playoffs, they’re going to have to be almost perfect down the stretch, and that’s going to be challenging with a third-string quarterback leading the offense vs. a divisional rival.
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