Mark Madden: Steelers should go back to Mason Rudolph at quarterback

Every duck has his day.

But for Devlin Hodges, his day is done.

The Steelers should start Mason Rudolph in Sunday’s game at the New York Jets.

Hodges caught lightning in a bottle. He won three games as a starter, one in relief.

But when confronted by a good defense in last Sunday’s home loss to Buffalo, Hodges wilted. The Bills put eight men in the box, stifling the run (though the Steelers gave up on it far too quickly). Hodges threw 38 passes. Four were intercepted. Hodges was floating the ball. Buffalo’s defensive backs could have signaled for a fair catch.

Rudolph won four games as a starter. When he faltered, Hodges went in.

Now Hodges has faltered. Rudolph should go back in.

Despite Hodges’ run of success — and the neat nickname, the duck hats, and the duck calls — he is an undrafted rookie from a small college with a popgun arm. Now that the adrenaline is gone, that’s all Hodges is. A fourth-string quarterback the Steelers cut.

Rudolph has talent. Rudolph has a much better arm. Rudolph has pedigree. He’s a third-round draft pick from a big-time football school.

Hodges isn’t seen as a remote possibility to replace Ben Roethlisberger when the latter retires. He’s not even viewed as the backup for next season. Rudolph is much more likely for either of those jobs or both.

So go back to Rudolph. Rudolph is just better. You could say Hodges outplayed Rudolph until Sunday. But what happened Sunday was horrific.

This isn’t playing the blame game. More like grasping at straws. Neither is truly good enough. But Rudolph is better. Perhaps he could spark like Hodges did.

The Steelers’ offense is a quagmire. The Steelers have scored exactly one offensive touchdown in six of the last seven games. That’s unacceptable. (Unless you bet the under.) To win five of those seven games is a tribute to the defense and to luck.

The Steelers should defeat the Jets. But the Steelers are also very likely to score exactly one offensive touchdown. That puts the game up for grabs. (Bet the under.)

Any little edge could make a difference. Perhaps Rudolph’s talent could be that difference. Maybe time on the sideline relieved whatever pressure Rudolph felt. At the very least, it has gotten Rudolph further away from Baltimore’s Earl Thomas trying to knock his head off and all the stupidity that happened at Cleveland.

Hodges hasn’t played well enough to keep the job. He certainly doesn’t deserve the same benefit of the doubt an established performer gets.

If Rudolph falters, put Hodges in. Heck, put both in the same backfield. It couldn’t be worse than how the Steelers butchered the wildcat Sunday.

As noted, the Steelers quit the run way too fast vs. Buffalo. The Bills loaded the box because they wanted Hodges to throw. He did, and he stunk. Running into the teeth of Buffalo’s formation might have proven folly, but the alternative failed badly.

The quarterback situation forces the Steelers to be a running team. If that fails, they lose. If they betray that identity, they lose.

But the Steelers have got to try to succeed on the ground. At Arizona the game prior, the Steelers didn’t dominate when they ran. But they were committed to the run, scratched and clawed their way to 140 yards rushing, and eked out the victory.

Hodges threw 19 times at Arizona and was effective. He threw 38 times against Buffalo, and was awful. When Hodges throws that much, the Steelers have zero chance.

If Rudolph plays and throws that much, the Steelers have very little chance. But at least Rudolph won’t be tossing helium balloons from Party City.

Rudolph beat Indianapolis and the Los Angeles Rams. (Sadly, those are the Steelers’ two most impressive victories.) He kept the Steelers in the game at San Francisco and at home vs. Seattle. Rudolph played OK until the debacle at Cleveland.

Rudolph is better than Hodges. He should start against the Jets.