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The NFL consists of two types of teams: Those that have a franchise quarterback and those that don’t.
The latter can be competitive. They can win games. They can even find themselves in the postseason and possibly win a division crown. If that’s good enough, they can be fine with whomever is behind center.
In Pittsburgh, the Steelers operate at a Super Bowl standard. They’re not even close to that form, whether they have Mason Rudolph or Kenny Pickett behind center.
Rudolph didn’t even play poorly during Pittsburgh’s 31-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills. He made a few good throws, extended a couple of plays and tossed a pair of touchdowns. But the juxtaposition of seeing his performance compared to the Bills’ Josh Allen should have been an eye-opener for the Steelers organization.
More than ever, the NFL is a QB-driven league. The game has been geared toward the position in almost every possible way. The likes of Tom Brady, Matthew Stafford and Patrick Mahomes have helped lead their teams to the last five Super Bowl victories.
Today’s quarterbacks need to be creative playmakers and existential threats on every down. The days of simply working efficiently with the offensive structure are gone. Brady was the best to ever do it. He retired. Today’s quarterbacks are geared toward extending plays, working off-platform and adding to both phases of the game.
When the Bills needed a play Monday, Allen provided it with his feet. The 6’5″, 237-pound quarterback ran the ball eight times for 74 yards, including a 52-yard score, which occurred on a 3rd-and-7.
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JOSH ALLEN 52-YARD TD RUN 🤯😱
(via @NFL)
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The Steelers stuck with Rudolph because he was the hot hand after Kenny Pickett suffered an ankle injury. Even when doctors cleared Pickett, head coach Mike Tomlin decided the third-string-backup-turned starter helped the offense more, with his aggressive nature.
Yet it’s clear both Pickett and Rudolph create glass ceilings.
The former has been average-to-below average in his first two seasons. Maybe his play shouldn’t come as a surprise as the only first-round pick from the worst quarterback draft class in the last 25 years. Whereas Rudolph came in and executed, he didn’t do enough to compete with an offense truly capable of creating explosive plays with Allen leading the way.
The Steelers organization is famously loyal to all of its players and coaches. However, Pittsburgh finds itself in professional football purgatory. The team is just good enough to post a winning record and make the playoffs. The squad isn’t good enough to legitimately compete for another championship.
Unfortunately, that status places the Steelers toward the back end of the first round, which makes it nearly impossible to draft a top QB prospect, unless a drastic move is made. It’s time to do so.
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