Steely McBeam
Well-known member
- Mar 20, 2019
- 2,135
- 0
Getty Images
When the Steelers handed the keys to the offense to quarterback Devlin Hodges, head coach Mike Tomlin said his expectation was that the undrafted rookie “won’t kill us” with his play.
Pittsburgh is two games into the Duck Era and Hodges hasn’t killed them. He had a solid game in Week 13’s 20-13 win over the Browns and went 16-of-19 for 152 yards and a touchdown in Sunday’s 23-17 win over the Cardinals.
One of those completions was a 17-yard throw across his body to Diontae Johnson. Seeing a rookie make that kind of throw would give some coaches heart palpitations, but Tomlin said on Sunday that he was comfortable with what Hodges was doing.
“I trust his judgement,” Tomlin said, via ESPN.com. “That’s been a part of his game. He did a really good job of managing his emotions in the midst of tough circumstances and being prudent, yet aggressive. We’re getting more and more comfortable.”
Hodges is the first undrafted rookie to win his first three starts since Ed Rubbert did it for Washington as a replacement player during the 1987 strike. Rubbert never got a fourth start, but Hodges will make his next Sunday night and another win will make it likelier that his rookie year ends with postseason action.