Aaron Rodgers left the Steelers’ win over the Bengals in Week 11 after suffering a wrist injury to the left late in the first-half. Rodgers was originally deemed questionable for return but never returned to the sidelines during the second-half, let alone the field. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin announced that Rodgers’ wrist would be further examined on Monday after Pittsburgh’s 34-12 victory. He told CBS Sports Melanie Collins at halftime that Rodgers is being evaluated, and they are hopeful that he will return. Rodgers held his wrist when he was hit by several Bengals defenders on the Steelers final offensive play in the first half. Mason Rudolph replaced Rodgers during the second quarter. Rudolph was Pittsburgh’s longtime back-up quarterback who had a 9-8-1 NFL record, including an 8-4-1 start as Steelers’ quarterback. Rudolph directed two scoring drives during the second-half, completing 12 of 16 passes for 127 yards with a touchdown. Tomlin noted that Rudolph had always been able to deliver when called upon. Rudolph is the first quarterback for Pittsburgh since Ben Roethlisberger, who started in a playoff match. “That is why we value his services. It was consistent with his past performance for us. We don’t take this for granted. We don’t. We appreciate it.”
Rodgers, who is 41 years old, led Pittsburgh to a 10-6 lead at halftime over Cincinnati, a team that had defeated the Steelers in Week 7. Rodgers helped the Steelers get off to a good start by throwing a touchdown pass of 11 yards to Kenneth Gainwell during the opening drive. Pittsburgh extended its lead to 20-9 in the third quarter with Rodgers on injured reserve. Steelers safety Kyle Dugger, who had just recorded a 73 yard pick-six of Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco in the late third quarter after Rudolph’s drive ended with a Chris Boswell goal, made it 20-9. Rudolph’s touchdown pass of 5 yards to Gainwell at 3:40 with the game still in reach after a Bengals goal had made it 20-12, less than 10 mins later. James Pierre, a defensive back for the Steelers, took a 34-yard fumble and scored the Steelers’ second touchdown.
Rudolph stated that Rodgers informed him at halftime he would lead the Steelers offense at the beginning of the second half. Rudolph’s response to being asked how he would rate his performance was to point to the final score. “We’ve won. That is our only goal,” Rudolph said. “I thought that I had settled down a bit. I was a little erratic in the beginning, but wanted to make sure our guys knew. [The Bengals] Played a lot soft, one high zone and let a lot go over the center. … I was so proud of my guys. We had two bad penalties that held us back, but we overcame them and scored some points. Pittsburgh is now 6-4 for the season, and has maintained its lead in the AFC North over Baltimore.
2025-11-16 23:47:57
Discover more from sportscraper.co.uk
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
