Steelers QB Rudolph suffers concussion
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph left the game against the Baltimore Ravens after suffering a concussion following a hit to the chin by Baltimore safety Earl Thomas in the third quarter on Sunday.
Trailing, 17-13, and facing third-and-11 at the Pittsburgh 12 midway through the third quarter, Rudolph lined up in the shotgun and dropped back to pass. The play broke down and Rudolph scrambled to his left, stepping up the field in the process. He flicked the ball to teammate James Washington just before the crown of Thomas’ helmet hit Rudolph under the chin. Rudolph limply fell to the ground and laid there with his eyes closed while medical personnel rushed to attend to him. Rudolph woozily made his way off the field and to a nearby hospital for further evaluation.
“I was just flying to the ball like I normally do,” said Thomas, who signed with Baltimore in the offseason after becoming a perennial Pro Bowler with Seattle. “I was asking the ref what happened and they said upstairs said that a part of my helmet kind of hit him in the chin, and that’s what caused the flag. I still believe that it wasn’t intentional on my part.”
Rudolph eventually came to as trainers cut off his facemask. He needed to be helped off the field by his teammates because the cart used to treat seriously hurt players stalled. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin wasn’t sure why the cart wasn’t working.
“Ask somebody that is in charge of that,” Tomlin said. “I don’t drive carts and things of that nature.”
Rudolph is the second Steelers quarterback to be injured this season. Starter Ben Roethlisberger is out for the season after surgery on his right elbow.
Gordon returns: Melvin Gordon was flooded by familiar feelings after his delayed season debut with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Not many of those feelings were warm or fuzzy.
Instead, the star fifth-year running back has been transported back to the bad old days of his first three NFL seasons when his Chargers fell into an early hole in the standings and spent the rest of the year scrambling to get out.
Los Angeles (2-3) has a losing record after five games for the fourth time in the former Wisconsin star’s five seasons after its 20-13 loss to the previously winless Denver Broncos on Sunday. Even more embarrassingly, the Chargers failed to score an offensive touchdown for the first time since Dec. 13, 2015, ending a streak of 55 regular-season games.
When asked if he recalled any early season games that left him feeling as frustrated as this debacle, Gordon smiled and replied: “Plenty. But not for a while.”
“We just couldn’t get going,” Gordon added. “What frustrated me most was being inside the 20, being right at the goal line and not converting. That’s just not Chargers football. You know us. We get to the goal line, we’re licking our chops (and) we usually get it in.”