Category: AFC NORTH

How flex scheduling hurt the Steelers playoff chances

Week 17 flex scheduling may affect the Pittsburgh Steelers chances at making the playoffs

In general, flex scheduling is a good idea imposed by the NFL. It was introduced to help ensure that meaningful games late in the season got national exposure while games that had little to no effect on the playoff race are swapped out of primetime slots. But in week 17 both the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans vs. Houston Texans were flexed to the 4:25 kickoff spot. Here’s why that hurts the Steelers.

The AFC Playoff Picture

Let’s start at the top with the 1 seed which is held by the Baltimore Ravens. They have wrapped up the AFC North and the top seed in the AFC and do not have much of a reason to risk injury to their starters in week 17. The Buffalo Bills are in a similar scenario, they failed to win the AFC East but have clinched the 5 seed as the first wildcard, and like the Ravens, won’t be able to improve their seeding in the AFC playoffs. But the three teams between the Ravens and Bills are the 2 seed New England Patriots (12-3), the 3 seed Kansas Chiefs (11-4) and the 5 seed Houston Texans (10-5). All three teams have won division titles, and therefore earned playoff spots. But each team only trails the team seeded in front of them by 1 game and owns their respective tie-breakers.

For example, The Chiefs have a head to head win over the Patriots so if the Patriots lose and Chiefs win on Sunday, the two teams would have the same record and the Chiefs would move into the 2nd seed while the Patriots would fall to the 3rd. The same scenario holds true with the Texans. If they win and the Chiefs lose, the Texans would be able to move from the 4th seed to the 3rd seed in the AFC playoffs. When it comes to the 6th seed, the Titans will clinch the 6th seed if they beat the Texans. The easiest way Steelers will clinch the 6th seed occurs if the Tennessee Titans lose to the Texans and the Steelers beat the Baltimore Ravens. Also there’s a scenario where the Oakland Raiders can sweep in and snag the 6th seed.

Flex Scheduling’s Effect

As mentioned above the seeding of the Patriots, Chiefs and Texans can change and each team has something to play for. The Steelers, are the betting favorite at Baltimore this week because the Ravens have announced that they are sitting their starters. But, the Steelers need the Texans to win if they’re going to clinch the 6th seed. The Texans, now playing an afternoon game will have the advantage of knowing the outcome of the Kansas City Chiefs game when they take the field. If the Chiefs win earlier in the day, there’s no way for the Texans to improve their playoff seeding. If that’s the case, there’s really no point to play their starters either.

If the Texans are playing their backups against the Titans, the odds of the Titans winning dramatically increases. While Texans Head Coach Brian Billick has said that their starters will play, that stance may quickly change if the Chiefs win. Steelers Nation may be relegated to hoping that the Texans backups can fend off the Titans while the Steelers simultaneously defeat the Ravens backups.  It’s a complicated and unique scenario where the performance of the Chiefs would affect if the Texans deploy their starters or backups, and depending on what they decide the Texans coaching staff could greatly affect the Steelers’ chances at clinching the 6th seed. All because two games were flexed to afternoon kickoffs.

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Steelers announce Devlin Hodges will start at QB vs. Browns over Mason Rudolph

Mason Rudolph has been benched for “Duck” Hodges vs. the Browns

Some of the boiling drama from this weekend’s game in Pittsburgh between the Browns and Steelers is now simmered, thanks to Mike Tomlin. The Steelers coach announced that Devlin Hodges will start at quarterback instead of Mason Rudolph.

It’s a justifiable football decision based on how poorly Rudolph has played the past couple of weeks, including the game in Cleveland in Week 11 that ended with Myles Garrett hitting him over the head with his own helmet as part of a brawl. Hodges took over midway through Pittsburgh’s comeback victory in Week 12 over the winless Bengals.

Hodges is an undrafted rookie from Samford. He has one previous start, a win over the Chargers where “Duck” completed 15 of his 20 pass attempts for 132 yards, with one TD and one INT.

Sheldon Richardson really hopes Mason Rudolph starts for the Steelers in Week 13

The look on Richardson’s face when he’s asked why he wants Rudolph to play is one of the most honest–and hilarious–expressions you’ll ever see from an NFL player.

Count Browns defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson among those who really want to see Mason Rudolph back at the helm of the Pittsburgh Steelers when the two teams meet in Week 13. Richardson gave a classic answer when asked about it after the Browns’ win over the Miami Dolphins.

While Cleveland was pounding Miami, Rudolph got benched after his poor play led to the Steelers trailing the winless Cincinnati Bengals. He was replaced by Devlin Hodges, who quickly rallied Pittsburgh to a win. That was a hot topic among the Cleveland media in the locker room and a question posed to Richardson.

After initially dismissing the question, the big defensive lineman returns to it quickly.

“I hope he plays, I hope he plays,” he says.

He’s asked the natural follow-up question — why?

“Did you see him play last game?”, Richardson deadpans incredulously.

The look on Richardson’s face when he’s asked why he wants Rudolph to play is one of the most honest–and hilarious–expressions you’ll ever see from an NFL player.

Thanks to 92.3 The Fan for the video on the quip!

Mason Rudolph benched by the Steelers vs. winless Bengals

It will be interesting to see if Rudolph gets the start vs. the Browns in Week 13

Mason Rudolph escaped suspension for his role in the Week 11 brawl in Cleveland, but the Steelers QB suffered some karmic retribution. The Steelers benched Rudolph for truly awful play during Pittsburgh’s game against the winless Cincinnati Bengals.

Rudolph was 8-for-16 for 85 yards and an interception and his Steelers were losing 7-3 in the third quarter to the hapless Bengals. Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin decided he’d seen enough and yanked Rudolph, replacing him with undrafted rookie Devlin “Duck” Hodges.

Hodges promptly led the Steelers on a scoring drive to give them the lead. If Hodges leads the team to the win, it will set up a very interesting decision for Tomlin on who gets the starting nod in next Sunday’s matchup against the Browns in Pittsburgh.

Steelers QB Mason Rudolph speaks about Week 11 vs Browns

His version of events differs with what most people saw on film

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Here is Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, Mason Rudolph, speaking about how the Week 11 game against the Browns ended.

We all have been interested in what Mason Rudolph was going to say next after saying Cleveland Browns defensive end, Myles Garrett, “cowardly” attacked him with his own helmet.

Here are a few discrepancies I see with his comments:

1. Juju Smith-Schuster did not leave the game injured after a targeting call.

2. No comments were made about Mason Rudolph’s conduct and trying to remove Myles Garrett’s helmet. This shows a lack of accountability for the situation.

3. The “late hit” Mason Rudolph can be seen below. It is pretty obvious Myles Garrett arrived a split second after the pass left Rudolph’s hand. Calling it a “late hit” is not correct.

AFC North roundup: Ravens fly high, Bengals tamed once again

The Ravens blew out the Texans while the Bengals remain winless

After Thursday night’s divisional battle in FirstEnergy Stadium between the Browns and Steelers, the other two AFC North teams were on display on Sunday in Week 11. The tale of two cities remains about as divergent as possible with Baltimore and Cincinnati.

The Ravens absolutely destroyed the visiting Houston Texans, 41-7. The hyped matchup between Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson and Houston’s Deshaun Watson fizzled quickly. The Ravens defense flummoxed Watson and the AFC South-leading Texans at every turn.

Baltimore jumped up to 8-2 with the impressive win and now holds a 2-game lead on the Texans, Chiefs, Colts and Raiders for the No. 2 seed in the AFC.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Bengals remain winless after falling in a relatively close game in Oakland. Now 0-10, the Bengals once again had no answer for the opposing run game. Ryan Finley managed just 115 passing yards in his second start at quarterback. Cincinnati is speeding towards the No. 1 overall pick and has a viable shot to join the 2017 Browns and 2008 Detroit Lions in the ignominious 0-16 club.

AFC North standings

Ravens 8-2

Steelers 5-5

Browns 4-6

Bengals 0-10

AFC North watch: Ravens trounce Bengals, Steelers moving up

The Browns get a shot at the Steelers on Thursday night

Cleveland wasn’t the only AFC North team to prevail in Week 10. Three of the four divisional teams captured wins on Sunday, and the fourth lost to one of the winning three.

The Baltimore Ravens ran all over the Cincinnati Bengals, 49-14, in the matchup of first and last place. Baltimore improves to 7-2 behind MVP candidate Lamar Jackson, while the Bengals remain winless in dropping rookie QB Ryan Finley’s debut as the Cincinnati starter. Jackson logged a perfect passer rating and also ran for 65 yards and a touchdown in the romp.

Pittsburgh moved into the No. 6 seed in the AFC with its fourth consecutive win. The Steelers held off the Rams, 17-12, thanks to a strong defensive effort that kept the Los Angeles offense out of the end zone. The Steelers will head to Cleveland this Thursday with a 5-4 record.