Ben Roethlisberger said he is “excited to get a little rest this week,” something he was told was going to happen by coach Mike Tomlin shortly after the Steelers clinched the AFC North title with their victory against the Indianapolis Colts.
And he wasn’t about to argue.
Not even after he and the offense got back on track during their 17-point comeback that ended what had stretched to 18 quarters of miserable offensive execution and performance.
“This is going to be a really good physical and mental rest for a couple days,” Roethlisberger said.
The Steelers will turn their offense over to Mason Rudolph on Sunday in Cleveland, maybe even work in a little Josh Dobbs, and Roethlisberger, for one, is curious to see how Rudolph handles his return to the scene of one of the league’s more unfortunate and ugly moments.
It will be the first time Rudolph will be facing Browns defensive end Myles Garrett since their incident on Nov. 14, 2019, when Garrett clubbed him on the head with Rudolph’s own helmet. It led to Garrett claiming his actions were a result of Rudolph using a racial slur against him.
“There’s a couple ways you can go about it,” Roethlisberger said on Wednesday. “You can put it behind you and treat it like a typical quarterback with short-term memory, like whatever happened last year put it out of your mind and focus on this year, this team.
“Or you can take it as motivation — you want to go out and put it on him. It’s really how he wants to approach it. I know from talking to Mason he wants to go out and win this football game. This is an awesome opportunity for him to go out and show what he can do.”
The Steelers and Browns have met twice since that game — both at Heinz Field. Neither Rudolph nor Garrett played in the return match on Dec. 1, 2019, won by the Steelers. But Garrett played in the first game this season at Heinz Field without incident.
“He’s a professional,” defensive end Cam Heyward said of Rudolph. “We’re not going to keep harping on something that happened in the past. If Mason wants to make a name for himself he has to do it the right way.”
Rudolph has appeared in four games and played only 21 snaps this season, completing just three of four passes for 9 yards. That is a far cry from last season when he had to step in for an injured Roethlisberger, compiling a 5-3 record in eight starts and completing 176 of 283 attempts for 1,765 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Roethlisberger said he will treat his role this week similar to last year when he was injured — he will be there to help Rudolph if he is asked.
“I’ll be here for Mason, for Josh, whoever it may be,” Roethlisberger said. “I never want to step on toes, but I’ll be available for questions, to help my input with coach Randy [Fichtner], coach [Matt] Canada, whoever it may be. I’ve already talked to Mason about that. That’s going to be my role this week to really try to do everything I can to be there to answer questions or to be of help to them to get them prepared for this game.”
Even though Rudolph’s playing time has been nothing more than a couple short-lived relief appearances, Roethlisberger said he has noticed how Rudolph’s knowledge of the offense has grown each year. He said he has especially noticed it the past couple weeks when Rudolph has been more vocal in the sideline huddles during timeouts, similar to when veterans Charlie Batch, Byron Leftwich and Bruce Gradkowski were his backups.
“He’s physically gifted, we know that,” Roethlisberger said. “He’s smart. We know he can make all the throws and do things, but even the ways that I have seen it are in-game. Mason has gotten to the point, especially in the last few weeks, where he is chiming in with thoughts and plays that, ‘Hey Ben, what about this, or what about this?’ I think that shows growth and maturity of a guy that understands the offense and kind of what we are trying to do on a week-to-week basis. I think that’s been really, really good.”
It is to the point, Roethlisberger said, that Rudolph is more than capable of running the no-huddle offense, something he rarely did last year other than running the two-minute offense at the end of a half. However, he may not use some of the same plays as Roethlisberger if and when the Steelers use that package.
“He knows the no-huddle package,” Roethlisberger said. “There are some changes that we’ve made, but he’s aware of it. If we need to go to that mode, he doesn’t see in the same way that I do. I don’t see the game in the same way that he does. No quarterback sees the game the same way as another quarterback, obviously.
“If it comes down to running the no-huddle and him calling plays that he sees, then it might look similar to what I do, but it might look completely different, too. He might have a group of plays that he really likes that are completely different from mine. I’m sure if it comes to that, he knows it well enough that he could make it happen for sure.”
More time off
Heyward is among several veterans expected to be rested against the Browns. That includes center Maurkice Pouncey and cornerback Joe Haden.
After losing Devin Bush and Bud Dupree from their defense, they would be wise to sit NFL sack leader T.J. Watt and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, as well.
When asked if he would get a rest this week, Heyward said, “I signed up for 16 weeks and I need to be ready for 16 weeks. So I’m planning on playing.”
Gerry Dulac: gdulac@post-gazette.com and Twitter @gerrydulac.
First Published: December 30, 2020, 7:54 p.m.