Behind Mason Rudolph, dominant rushing attack, Steelers beat Seahawks to remain in playoff hunt

SEATTLE – Playing with a sense of urgency that was lacking earlier in the season, the Pittsburgh Steelers found their formula for success Sunday afternoon at Lumen Field.

Behind the second impressive start in a row from quarterback Mason Rudolph and a dominant running game, the Steelers outpaced the Seattle Seahawks and headed into the new year buoyed by a 30-23 victory that kept their playoffs hopes alive.

“I’m thankful and happy to have a nice plane ride home,” Rudolph said after leading the Steelers to their second consecutive win and their highest offensive yardage output of the season.

With a 9-7 record, the Steelers are assured of having something at stake next weekend when they visit the Baltimore Ravens, who clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC earlier in the day.

The Steelers can qualify for the playoffs by beating the Ravens and getting a loss from either the Buffalo Bills or Jacksonville Jaguars. The Steelers also could lose and get the No. 7 seed, but it is a long-shot scenario.

“Whatever cards you are dealt, you deal with it,” defensive captain Cameron Heyward said. “To have a chance this late in the season to get in the playoffs is all you’re hoping for.”

Those hopes bordered on being non-existent until Rudolph was handed control of the offense two weeks ago. One week after helping the Steelers snap a three-game skid by leading the offense to a season-high 34 points against Cincinnati, Rudolph nearly matched it during the Steelers’ first victory in Seattle since 1983.

Rudolph led the Steelers inside the red zone seven times, and they got two touchdown runs from Najee Harris and another from Jaylen Warren. The Steelers finished with a season-high 468 total yards, including 202 rushing.

Will it gain Rudolph a third consecutive start in place of Kenny Pickett, who was inactive Sunday with his ankle injury.

“We’ll talk about that next week,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “Right now, we’re just appreciative of the victory.”

It was one in which the Steelers overpowered a Seahawks team that also entered with an 8-7 record and trying to keep in the NFL playoff hunt.

“We imposed our will on them,” tight end Pat Freiermuth said, “and they definitely felt it.”

The Steelers set the tone in the first quarter on a touchdown drive that included a fourth-down conversion, consumed nearly eight minutes and provided the first points of the game. The Steelers possessed the ball for 37 minutes, 33 seconds overall and didn’t commit a turnover.

“I thought the offensive line provided the wave that we rode,” Tomlin said. “We talked all week about trying to conquer the environment and winning the line of scrimmage being a major component of it.”

Harris rushed for a season-high 122 yards on 27 attempts and scored on runs of 9 and 4 yards, both scores coming when he shrugged off initial tackle attempts. Warren added 75 yards on 13 attempts and scored on an 18-yard burst.

“We are willing to adapt to whatever we have to do,” Warren said. “We didn’t come into this game to play their football. We came in wanting to play our football.”

Rudolph did his part by completing 18 of 24 passes for 274 yards and finishing with a 112.2 passer rating. He hooked up with George Pickens seven times for 131 yards. On two of those throws, Rudolph’s aggressiveness paid off.

On a third-and-6 with the Steelers holding a 24-20 lead in the fourth quarter, Rudolph faced pressure in the pocket but stood in and lofted a deep pass toward the right sideline. Pickens ran under it and made a diving catch for a 34-yard gain.

“I’ve made that catch so many times,” Pickens said, nonchalantly. “I know if I’m going to reach, I’m going to catch it.”

Another gutsy throw came with two minutes left after Diontae Johnson recovered an onside kick. Seattle, which had just pulled within seven points on a field goal, had two timeouts remaining. Rudolph found Pickens on a slant that gained 20 yards and led to the Steelers running out the clock.

“I was a little nervous, I’m not going to lie,” Rudolph said.

He wasn’t surprised, though, at the play call. Not on a day when the Steelers went for it on fourth down three times, converting two on Rudolph sneaks.

“I think a lot of coaches and a lot of play callers want to be conservative there and just run it out, but we’ve got a very aggressive head coach,” Rudolph said. “I think he made the call, and it paid off.”

The Steelers defense gave up two touchdowns in a second quarter that featured the Seahawks piling up 151 yards. But Seattle mustered just a trio of field goals in the second half, and rookie Nick Herbig had a strip sack that helped blunt any hopes of a Seattle comeback.

After Chris Boswell kicked his second of three field goals to give the Steelers a 27-20 lead, Herbig was surprised when outside linebacker Alex Highsmith tapped him on the shoulder.

“Alex was like, ‘Herby, take this one,’” Herbig said. “He came up and said to start this series for me.”

The strip sack came on the next play, and it set up Boswell’s third field goal, which gave the Steelers a double-digit lead with 4:31 remaining.

“We knew it was going to be a back-and-forth fight,” said inside linebacker Myles Jack, who made his first start in place of an injured Elandon Roberts. “We threw punches, they threw punches. But at the end of the day, our punches hit a little bit harder.”