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The Pittsburgh Steelers have officially made a quarterback change. Head coach Mike Tomlin announced on Tuesday that Devlin Hodges will replace Mason Rudolph as the team’s starting quarterback.
Hodges gets the start this weekend against the Cleveland Browns in a game with critical playoff implications. He replaced Rudolph last week against the Bengals and finished the game completing 45.5 percent of his passes for 118 yards and a touchdown. Rudolph had completed half his passes in that game for 85 yards and an interception.
The bigger issue for Pittsburgh in this game is the health of the players around Hodges. Wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and running back James Conner are both question marks, and Tomlin is uncertain about their status for Sunday. Odds seem good both miss the game, but the team won’t issue its first practice participation report until Wednesday afternoon.
The Steelers are a 1.5-point underdog at home against Cleveland. A Browns win evens the two teams up at 6-6 and gives the Steelers the head-to-head sweep. It’s not quite must-win for the Steelers, but it’s pretty close at this point.