![]() ![]() James Conner had four first-half carries for 23 yards before opening it up a little with 32 yards on 10 carries the rest of the way. After Rudolph’s departure, they rushed and passed 10 times each. They threw the ball on 22 of the first 29 plays. Still, the Steelers didn’t get into that aspect of their attack until after Rudolph was injured. The wildcat wasn’t much a part of the game plan, leaving the running game with more of a traditional look. I have always been a guy who is aggressive in throwing the ball and whatnot - just execution of the game plan.” I just went out there and executing when depending on what play is called. But considering the Steelers nearly won with Hodges, who made the team after a spring tryout and wasn’t on the 53-man roster until they traded Josh Dobbs, it was an above-average performance. ![]() The play was nullified by a penalty, but making crazy throws was one of the negatives about him at Samford University. Hodges made a very poor decision when he threw late across the field and his pass was intercepted by Thomas early in the fourth quarter. Hodges completed 7 of 9 for 68 yards and rushed twice for 20 yards, leading the Steelers back from a four-point deficit to twice take three-point leads. When Hodges came into the game, the Steelers didn’t go conservative. His 35-yard touchdown pass to Smith-Schuster was the fourth of that distance or longer this year, which trails only Patrick Mahomes and Jimmy Garoppolo. Rudolph was under center a couple of times, threw some intermediate routes and even a timing route or two, something he rarely did in his previous appearances. Rudolph looked a lot more comfortable in his third start, completing nine of his first 10 passes before finishing 13 of 20 for 131 yards and a touchdown. Here are grades for the Steelers’ effort against the Ravens: Quarterback The mentality for me and the rest of the team is to go out and play the next play.” “Losing four out of five games doesn’t put you in an easy position to accomplish your goals for the season. It is set up that every single game matters a lot,” tackle Alejandro Villanueva said. The last time the Steelers started 1-4 was in 2013, when they were a Ryan Succop kick away from qualifying for the playoffs. “I don’t believe in moral victories,” Tomlin said. On the bright side, the defense continues to play well, having held Lamar Jackson in check for most of the game while forcing three turnovers and five sacks. Staying together isn’t going to be a problem with us. We have a tight team, a veteran-led team. We have to find a way to keep this together. We have to circle the wagons, go back-to-back and fight our way out. “That’s the only way we are going to get out of this. “We have to keep grinding,” linebacker Vince Williams said. There is no guarantee Rudolph will be back for the game. The Steelers fell to 1-4 with a 26-23 overtime loss to the Ravels and with a trip to the dreaded West Coast next week in Los Angeles. It continued Sunday when Mason Rudolph was knocked unconscious by Earl Thomas during an ugly scene that forced the world-renowned duck caller to lead the Steelers to an almost-win against the Ravens at Heinz Field.Įven when things went right, such as Mike Tomlin electing to kick off to start overtime to put the Steelers defense on the field, it turned out to be a disaster when JuJu Smith-Schuster fumbled away the game four plays later. The Steelers have come across a run of bad luck not seen around these parts in quite some time. Forget Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell’s departures and Ben Roethlisberger’s season-ending elbow injury.
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