NFL
Why isn’t Kenny Pickett playing for the Steelers against the Ravens?
Pittsburgh Steelers boss Mike Tomlin says Mason Rudolph will start at quarterback on Saturday, despite Pickett returning to availability.
Mason Rudolph will remain the Pittsburgh Steelers’ starting quarterback for this weekend’s crunch NFL Week 18 clash with the Baltimore Ravens, despite Kenny Pickett’s return to fitness.
Rudolph, who has been the Steelers’ third-choice QB for much of the 2023 regular season, has led Pittsburgh to back-to-back victories since being brought into the line-up in Week 16.
Rudolph “has done good job”, says Steelers boss
Speaking to reporters this week, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said the 28-year-old has earned the right to hold on to the starting QB spot.
“We’re going to leave the ball in Mason Rudolph’s hands,” Tomlin said. “He’s done a good job and we’ve done a good job in the most recent two weeks.
“We’ve taken care of the ball. He’s taken care of the ball. We scored points at a rate in which we hadn’t done to this point this year. With the urgency of the moment and because of those reasons, we’re going to leave the ball in his hands.”
Why was Pickett unavailable?
Pittsburgh’s No. 1 quarterback for the first 12 games of the season, Pickett hasn’t played since suffering an ankle sprain during the team’s defeat to the Arizona Cardinals at the start of December.
The 25-year-old, who is in his second year in the NFL since the Steelers picked him in round one of the 2022 draft, was initially replaced at QB by Mitch Trubisky.
However, after successive losses in Weeks 14 and 15, Tomlin benched Trubisky in favour of Rudolph.
Since Rudolph’s introduction, the Steelers have boosted their playoff prospects by beating the Cincinnati Bengals 34-11 and the Seattle Seahawks 30-23.
What do the Steelers need against the Ravens?
Aiming to return to the postseason after missing out in 2022, Pittsburgh currently sit ninth in the AFC standings, but can seal a playoff berth if they win in Baltimore and other results go their way.
The Pennsylvanians will progress with a victory as long as the Buffalo Bills lose, or the Jacksonville Jaguars lose or tie, or there’s a tie between the Houston Texans and the Indianapolis Colts.
The Steelers could even qualify with a tie or a defeat, depending on a more complex series of outcomes elsewhere.
Steelers vs Ravens: when, where, how to watch?
The Pittsburgh Steelers visit the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday 6 January 2024, with kick-off in Maryland scheduled for 4:30pm ET/1:30pm PT.
Viewers in the United States can watch the Week 18 game on ABC, ESPN, ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes.
Stream the Steelers vs the Ravens live on fuboTV, which offers users a free trial.