For the 17th straight year, Mike Tomlin will have a non-losing season following the win in Seattle. Travis Kelce has taken a shot at the media and people who don’t want Tomlin around anymore. All of the sudden, everyone is back on Tomlin’s side after back-to-back wins. Donny and Chris wanted to remind people that the Steelers had very good odds of making the playoffs before they lost to teams like the Browns w/ Dorian Thompson-Robinson, the Cardinals and the Patriots – with the last two being at home. Chris said Mason Rudolph deserves about 90% of the credit for where the Steelers are heading into the final week. 

Former Penguin Tyler Kennedy joined the show. TK talked about his Christmas and the voyage back to the stores for his wife to return every gift he got her. Tyler got into the Penguins’ loss to the Caps last night and what he actually liked about the performance. He was discouraged by Tristan Jarry, but the offense was able to rally to make it a one-goal game. Chris asked TK about Ryan Graves and how the Penguins can fix what he is doing right now. Tyler suggested moving Graves around with the defensive pairings and try to find something that will click. Tyler thinks the Penguins can definitely jump some teams in front of them. When it comes to the trade deadline, he doesn’t see Kyle Dubas sitting around if the Pens need a move. 

Cam Heyward addressed the rumors regarding the Kenny Pickett situation on his podcast. He didn’t deny the story Chris had. Chris tried to make it clear to people that his story isn’t the same as the rumors that have been swirling about Pickett taking his ball and going home when he wasn’t named the starter against Seattle. 

Hour 1: Can Mason Rudolph save the season? Chris and Donny discussed what Rudolph is doing right now to turn the season around in the final weeks and the possibility of the Steelers making the playoffs after all of this. And it seems like the players are really rallying around what Rudolph is doing.

What has led to success for Mason Rudolph the most so far? Chris thinks his willingness to stand in the pocket much more than the other two QBs on the roster is the answer. The guys talked about the 3rd down pass to George Pickens that led to the Steelers eventually extending their lead in a key moment. 

How much longer can the Steelers ride the sleigh with Mason Rudolph? It’s fair to point out that other backup QB stories around the league eventually fizzled out and the same could happen to Rudolph. The players seem to be playing much harder for Rudolph than they did for the other two signal callers. 

Hour 2: Kenny Pickett addressed the situation today regarding him being a healthy scratch against Seattle. Chris also thought the Q&A between reporters and Mike Tomlin yesterday was fishy too. The NFL also has a new rule when it comes to dressing an emergency QB and why Pickett didn’t dress even in that situation. Chris had a theory on how things went down – it doesn’t make Pickett a quitter, but it seems like he was very frustrated with the entire situation. We have heard time and time again about the competitive nature of Pickett, which is another interesting wrinkle in the story. Is it fair for Pickett to be benched for Mason Rudolph? Chris pointed out that the last thing Tomlin wants to do at this point is put Mitch Trubisky back on the field. 

Chris thinks Mike Tomlin made the smart move by riding the hot hand with Mason Rudolph. But why would Kenny Pickett be the backup this week? Donny and Chris think it’s pretty easy to explain. 

Kenny Pickett was able to give his flowers to Mason Rudolph, but Chris thinks that is a way to show some of his feelings last week at the same time. Chris believes Pickett is a strong competitor, but it didn’t sit well with him that he didn’t get the ball against Seattle on Sunday. Is this version of Rudolph better than any version of Ben Roethlisberger in his last few years? 

Hour 3: Mike Tomlin didn’t want to commit to a starter if the Steelers were to make the playoffs. It’s pretty hard to deny Mason Rudolph if the team gets there. If he plays well enough to win on Saturday and the Steelers get in, it should be among the easiest decisions Mike Tomlin has ever had to make. And how should the Steelers go about quarterback going into next season? Chris laid out his plan, as of now. Tomlin deserves criticism for not going to Rudolph sooner and if he played in one of the games started by Mitch Trubisky, are the Steelers sitting pretty right now? Chris thinks this is the most adversity Kenny Pickett has seen in his entire career. 

TJ Watt has been named Steelers MVP – fair or foul? We also took a look at the Steelers “estimated” practice ahead of Ravens week. Fans shared some thoughts on the Steelers quarterback situation. Did Mike Tomlin try to cover for Kenny Pickett yesterday? 

Donny Football Debrief – Donny thinks he has the perfect future schedule for the College Football National Championship Game. 

Hour 4: If Mason Rudolph continues to play well, how should the Steelers go about the QB situation next season? If the Steelers get into the playoffs and Rudolph looks good every step of the way, possibly even in a losing effort, there should be a legitimate competition next season with Rudolph and Kenny Pickett, and maybe another outside QB. Donny doesn’t want the Steelers to get caught up with the two-headed offensive coordinator route just because Rudolph is putting up points. Some callers shared their thoughts. Chris reiterated that he is stunned by how well Rudolph is playing. 

Steelers insider Brian Batko from the PG joined the show. Brian talked about the drama this week with the Steelers surrounding the quarterback position. Brian talked about the “speculation” that Mike Tomlin didn’t feel like getting into yesterday and how he thinks things are adding up right now with Kenny Pickett. He feels like some of the things said by Tomlin yesterday didn’t make much sense. Brian thinks the waters will get very murky with the QB situation if Mason Rudolph puts together another strong start and possibly gets the Steelers into the playoffs. Did the Steelers get it right with voting TJ Watt as team MVP? Brian doesn’t think the vote for team MVP was very close and doesn’t think it will be for team Rookie of the Year as well.  

College Football Minute – The playoff games delivered when the sport needed it most.

Steelers insider Brian Batko from the PG joined the show. Brian talked about the drama this week with the Steelers surrounding the quarterback position. Brian talked about the “speculation” that Mike Tomlin didn’t feel like getting into yesterday and how he thinks things are adding up right now with Kenny Pickett. He feels like some of the things said by Tomlin yesterday didn’t make much sense. Brian thinks the waters will get very murky with the QB situation if Mason Rudolph puts together another strong start and possibly gets the Steelers into the playoffs. Did the Steelers get it right with voting TJ Watt as team MVP? Brian doesn’t think the vote for team MVP was very close and doesn’t think it will be for team Rookie of the Year as well.  

If Mason Rudolph continues to play well, how should the Steelers go about the QB situation next season? If the Steelers get into the playoffs and Rudolph looks good every step of the way, possibly even in a losing effort, there should be a legitimate competition next season with Rudolph and Kenny Pickett, and maybe another outside QB. Donny doesn’t want the Steelers to get caught up with the two-headed offensive coordinator route just because Rudolph is putting up points.  

Donny Football Debrief – Donny thinks he has the perfect future schedule for the College Football National Championship Game.