Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph led the Tennessee Titans to a 31-12 upset victory over the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football.
Rudolph entered in the first quarter after Titans starter Will Levis was injured. Levis suffered a shoulder injury and was ruled as questionable to return, but did not.
Rudolph completed 9 of 17 passes for 85 yards, with his longest completion a 27-yarder to Tyler Boyd.
They could never make me hate you Mason 🙌
Mason Rudolph throwing clutch dimes in 2024 is great to see
— PickensBurgh🫡 (@PickensBurgh) October 1, 2024
He did not throw a touchdown pass, as the Titans built their lead early with three Nick Folk field goals. Running back Tyjae Spears scored in the third quarter to make it 16-6. Folk added three more field goals in the second half and Tony Pollard added another short run to give the Titans an easy victory over the stumbling Dolphins.
The Titans won their first game of the season to improve to 1-3. They are in third place in the AFC South, behind the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts.
The Dolphins, who started third-string quarterback Tyler Huntley with both Tua Tagovailoa and Skylar Thompson injured, are now 1-3 and tied with the New England Patriots for third place in the AFC East, behind the 3-1 Buffalo Bills and 2-2 New York Jets.
The Titans have a Week 5 bye, so they will have some time to get Levis healthy before their Week 6 home date with the Colts. Titans coach Brain Callahan said that Levis will regain his starting job when healthy.
Rudolph signed a one-year, $2.87 million contract with the Titans this offseason. The Steelers’ third-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, he spent six seasons in Pittsburgh. In his time with the Steelers, Rudolph played in 21 games and made 13 starts with an 8-4-1 record. He saw his most extensive playing time filling in for an injured Ben Roethlisberger in 2019.
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Last season, Rudolph entered as the third option following an injury for starter Kenny Pickett and ineffective play by backup Mitch Trubisky. He started the final three games of the regular season, leading the Steelers to victories in all three and a return to the postseason, where they lost to the Buffalo Bills.