Steelers' Mason Rudolph Benched vs. Bengals, Replaced by Devlin Hodges

It has been quite a stretch for Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph.

The signal-caller was benched during Sunday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals, which was his first time taking the field since Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett made national headlines by hitting Rudolph in the head with his own helmet.

According to Field Yates of ESPN, Devlin Hodges took over in the AFC North clash.

To say Rudolph was struggling before being pulled would be an understatement. Pittsburgh scored just three points in the first half, and the Oklahoma State product was 8-of-16 passing for 85 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception.

That would be a poor stat line against any team, let alone the 0-10 Bengals in a critical game for a Steelers team that needs a win in the middle of the AFC wild-card race.

On cue, Hodges threw a 79-yard touchdown pass to James Washington on his first possession of action in the third quarter, giving Pittsburgh the lead.

Hodges saw time during an October loss to the Baltimore Ravens after Rudolph exited with an injury and went 7-of-9 for 68 yards. He also started a win over the Los Angeles Chargers later that month and went 15-of-20 for 132 yards, one touchdown and one pick.

While Hodges isn't exactly Aaron Rodgers or Patrick Mahomes, it was time for a change for Pittsburgh.

The fight at the end of the loss to the Browns overshadowed Rudolph's terrible performance. He threw four interceptions and never established an offensive rhythm during the loss to his team's division rival, setting the stage for the benching in Sunday's contest.