The Jets are going to have a chance to go duck hunting when the Steelers come to town on Sunday.
Despite a rough performance against a Buffalo Bills defense he proclaimed nothing special on Sunday Night Football in Week 15, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin announced on Tuesday that Devlin “Duck” Hodges will start for Pittsburgh on Sunday.
“I think it’s reasonable to expect growth from young players as they get exposure,” Tomlin said. “Sometimes that exposure can be negative exposure, like his experience in the last game, but exposure nonetheless is a tool for growth.
“Particularly at the quarterback position, I think it’s reasonable to expect him to learn from those negative experiences from last Sunday night and apply it to this next opportunity and really, hopefully not make those same mistakes twice.”
Instead of pulling the plug on the rookie after one bad game, Tomlin is opting to give him a chance at redemption against a banged up Jets secondary in what is essentially a must-win game for a Steelers squad looking to remain in the hunt for the final AFC Wild Card spot. By keeping Hodges under center, Tomlin is placing a lot of faith in a player who never figured to be in this position.
An undrafted free agent out of FCS Samford, Hodges began 2019 at the bottom of Pittsburgh’s depth chart. A season-ending injury to Ben Roethlisberger moved up him to No. 2 behind Mason Rudolph before Hodges took over for the injured Rudolph in Week 6 against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Hodges played relatively well in his first career start, going 15-20 for 132 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Rudolph returned after Pittsburgh’s bye and took over center once again until Week 12, when he was yanked mid-game against the Bengals. Hodges relieved Rudolph in that game and has not relinquished the quarterback position since despite rather pedestrian stats. Hodges has only thrown for 884 yards, five touchdowns and six interceptions, but has kept the Steelers in the playoff race with a 3-1 record.
Even with Gregg Williams throwing everything he has at him, it’s safe to assume Hodges will improve upon his four-interception performance against the Bills against a New York secondary that got torched by Lamar Jackson in its most recent outing and is in dire straits due to an assortment of injuries to key contributors.
If he doesn’t, let’s just say the duck might not be flying in Pittsburgh much longer.