Mason Rudolph to start for Steelers, face Myles Garrett

Mason Rudolph and Myles Garrett have not shared the field together since their infamous brawl last year, but that will change on Sunday when the Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Cleveland Browns.

With the Steelers locked into either the No. 2 or No. 3 seed in the AFC, head coach Mike Tomlin has opted to rest Ben Roethlisberger for the season finale. Only the top team in each conference gets a bye this season with the expanded playoffs, and the Kansas City Chiefs have that locked up in the AFC. The Browns need to either win or get some help to reach the postseason, so they will need all hands on deck. That means Garrett will be trying everything in his power to make life difficult for Rudolph.

Rudolph was filling in for an injured Roethlisberger last year when he and Garrett got into it. Garrett was suspended for the remainder of the 2019 season after he bashed Rudolph in the head with his helmet during that game. The star defensive end later claimed he became so enraged because Rudolph used a racial slur, though there is no evidence of that having happened.

Tomlin downplayed the incident before the Steelers and Browns faced off earlier this season, but the circumstances are obviously different with Rudolph starting. Still, we wouldn’t expect any fireworks. There’s simply too much at stake, and both sides would likely prefer to move on from the embarrassing incident.