Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Steelers switch QBs, Chris Boswell delivers to beat Bengals

CINCINNATI — It’s no longer a question of whether the Pittsburgh Steelers have a quarterback controversy.

The better question is this: Do the Steelers have a quarterback?

Just when things looked like they couldn’t get worse for Mason Rudolph, the Steelers benched their second-year quarterback in favor of undrafted rookie Devlin Hodges in the second half against the winless Cincinnati Bengals.

Where Rudolph completed 8 of 16 attempts for 85 yards with one interception and a 39.8 passer rating, Hodges was 5 of 11 for 118 yards and a touchdown with no picks and a 115.0 rating.

What an awful 10-day stretch for Rudolph. Against the Cleveland Browns, he had his helmet pulled off and was hit in the head with it by Myles Garrett. Rudolph later was accused by the star defensive end of using a racial slur and then fined Saturday $50,000 by the NFL for his role in the fight.

Rudolph’s future as the Steelers’ starting quarterback, let alone the heir apparent to Ben Roethlisberger, is now in serious doubt.

But Hodges led the Steelers to go-ahead touchdown and field-goal drives on the way to a 16-10 victory over the Bengals on Sunday afternoon at Paul Brown Stadium.

1. Land of Boz: When we suggested on Sunday the Steelers’ best offensive weapon might be placekicker Chris Boswell, we weren’t kidding.

Running back Kerrith Whyte Jr., signed last Saturday from the Chicago Bears’ practice squad, hasn’t been in Pittsburgh long enough to understand.

After going three-and-out on the first possession, Whyte had runs of 21 and 16 yards, the second setting up a first-and-goal at the 9. Two plays later, Mason Rudolph’s pass was tipped by Karlos Dunlap and landed in the hands of safety Shawn Williams for an interception.

After another three-and-out, the Steelers turned to another newcomer. Wide receiver Deon Cain, signed off the Indianapolis Colts practice squad, caught a 35-yard pass to deep into Bengals territory.

When that drive stalled, Boswell booted a 26-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead at 3 minutes, 21 seconds of the second quarter.

The distance isn’t the only factor that made it a sure thing. Boswell is 25 of 25 on field goals against the Bengals in his career, including 13 at Paul Brown Stadium.

2. Turning to Tyler: When Ryan Finley threw deep downfield into coverage, and a Bengals receiver made a one-handed catch on his left shoulder pad with Steelers safety Terrell Edmunds in coverage, this was my immediate reaction:

That must be Tyler Boyd.

As someone who covered Boyd as an All-American running back at Clairton and an All-ACC receiver at Pitt, I’ve seen him make so many spectacular plays look routine.

Boyd was upset after Finley only targeted him three times against Oakland last week, so it was no surprise when the Bengals went right back to Boyd on the next play.

This time, Finley followed his 47-yard pass to Boyd by finding him in the front-right corner of the end zone. Boyd used his body to shield Steelers cornerback Joe Haden to make the catch for a 15-yard touchdown and 7-3 lead with 1:55 left in the first half.

Boyd looked like the game’s best skill player, by far.

3. Duck call: Aside from the three-and-outs, Rudolph’s ineffectiveness included an intentional grounding call on a third-and-2 that forced a punt.

He didn’t fare much better in the second half, starting with a 13-yard sack on the first play and throwing incomplete on third down for another three-and-out.

That’s when the Steelers turned to the Duck.

As Rudolph sat on the bench talking to offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner, Hodges started to warm up on the sideline and then grabbed his helmet.

Hodges completed his first pass to Jaylen Samuels for an 11-yard gain. An offensive pass interference penalty put the Steelers at a second-and-17, but Hodges hit James Washington in stride over the middle.

Washington sprinted along the visiting sideline, stiff-arming cornerback B.W. Webb, who fell when Washington changed direction. Washington ran for the end zone to complete a 79-yard touchdown and a 10-7 lead at 11:10 of the third quarter.

All of a sudden, it’s Duck season.

4. Back-to-back: The Steelers got a big break on a third-and-8 at their own 31, when Hodges rolled right and threw a pass that was out of reach for Washington.

A late flag was thrown as Webb was called for pass interference. It was a questionable call, at best, but gave the Steelers an automatic first down.

On the next play, Webb was called for another pass-interference penalty, this time covering Cain. And the Steelers had the ball at the Cincinnati 35.

But Hodges threw a sidearm pass incomplete on third down, and the Steelers had to settle for another Boswell field-goal attempt, this one from 47 yards.

Mike Tomlin could take comfort in this statistic: Of Boswell’s 25 field goals against the Bengals, a dozen were from 40 yards or longer and five from 49 yards.

Boswell split the sticks for a 13-10 lead.

5. Stripes Stripped: When in doubt, the Bengals turned to Boyd.

When Finley found Boyd downfield for a pass over inside linebacker Devin Bush at the Steelers’ 10, it looked like it could be the play to lead the Bengals back to victory.

But Bush punched the ball out from behind, knocking it loose from Boyd’s left hand at the 8, and Steelers free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick recovered it at the 6.

Fitzpatrick returned it 36 yards — although replays showed he might have stepped out of bounds, a review upheld the call — and the Steelers took over at their 42.

The Steelers answered with a seven-play, 45-yard scoring drive, thanks to a 21-yard run by Benny Snell on third-and-1 at the Bengals’ 34 and capped by a Boswell 29-yard field goal for a 16-10 lead with 3:18 remaining.

The Steelers forced another turnover when Bud Dupree got a strip-sack of Finley at the Cincinnati 21 with 2:38 left.

Boswell remained perfect at Cincinnati, and the Bengals remained winless for the season.

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