Cleveland Browns don’t get their wish, Mason Rudolph won’t start Week 13

The Cleveland Browns were hoping Mason Rudolph would be the Steelers quarterback for their upcoming matchup. Instead, they will be facing Devlin Hodges.

The Cleveland Browns upcoming game against the Pittsburgh will certainly draw a lot of eyes because it is their first matchup since the brawl headlined by Myles Garrett and Mason Rudolph. But the game will not have as much luster as it could have, as Rudolph will not be starting for Pittsburgh.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin announced Tuesday they will be starting Devlin Hodges at quarterback against the Browns after benching Rudolph during their Week 12 victory against the Cincinnati Bengals.

After helping guide the Steelers to a 4-2 record following Ben Roethlisberger‘s season-ending injury, Rudolph has struggled mightily the past two weeks, starting with the Week 11 loss to the Browns. In the past two games, Rudolph has completed only 51.67 percent of his passes for 306 yards, one touchdown and five interceptions.

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Tomlin explained the decision to start Hodges over Rudolph against the Browns was because Hodges “has not killed us.” Rudolph’s struggles and turnovers put pressure on the Pittsburgh defense to keep in them games. His play against the Bengals almost caused the Steelers to lose to the winless Bengals.

The Browns were hoping Rudolph would start for the Steelers during their Week 13 matchup. Not because of retribution for the Week 11 brawl, but because of his poor play. Browns defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson made that known following Cleveland’s win against Miami.

Against the Browns, and before the brawl, Rudolph could not move the ball against the Browns defense. He was struggling to deal with the Cleveland pass rush, as the Browns generated 11 quarterback hits and four sacks. As a result of the pressure, Rudolph threw four interceptions.

Now the Steelers will be hoping Hodges, an undrafted rookie, can manage the game well enough to help put them in a position to beat the Browns. Hodges has played in three games this season, completing 65.7 percent of his passes for 318 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. He guided the Steelers to a road win against the Chargers in his lone start and helped Pittsburgh come back to beat the Bengals.

Although there would have been even more storylines for the Browns upcoming matchup against Pittsburgh if Rudolph would have started, Cleveland is still in a favorable position to win the game with Hodges starting. No matter what, Sunday will be an emotional and intense game for both teams.