Dec 21, 2019 5 min read

Did the clock finally strike midnight for Devlin Hodges?

There’s a pretty good chance that it did. Hodges threw four interceptions last Sunday in a 17-10 Steelers loss to the Buffalo Bills and also ran himself into several sacks. He missed open receivers. He generally looked lost.

Certainly, the Bills have a good defense, one of the best in the league. He hadn’t faced anything like that to this point.

But his flaws were on display. He lacks the arm strength to get the ball outside the numbers down the field consistently. And his willingness to take risks backfired. Those 50-50 balls he had thrown in some previous games turned into interceptions against the Bills.

Buffalo has done that to a lot of quarterbacks, especially young, inexperienced ones. That’s why coach Mike Tomlin is sticking with Hodges today against the New York Jets. He wants to see how Hodges responds and if he has learned from his mistakes.

It was the same thing Tomlin did for Mason Rudolph after a four-interception game against the Cleveland Browns. He got a chance to bounce back the following week against the Cincinnati Bengals before eventually being pulled in favor of Hodges.

That’s the second part of the equation. It’s easier – and typically works better – if he has to pull Hodges, to insert Rudolph into the game for a spark rather than have to go back to Hodges had he started Rudolph in this game and he struggled.

The easy, and perhaps right move, would be to go back to Rudolph. The Steelers still view him as a quarterback of the future. But the Steelers have been riding the hot hand with Hodges.

They’ll give him a chance to show he can still be the hot hand. But the leash will be short.

• It was good to see Donnie Shell make the list of 20 veteran players to be a finalist for inclusion into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. As part of the NFL’s 100-year anniversary, the HOF will add 10 players off that 20-man veteran list, so Shell has a good chance to finally get in.

n Bill Cowher made the list of finalists in the expanded contributor and coaches list. Rather than Cowher on that list, however, longtime Steelers scout Bill Nunn would have made a lot more sense.

Cowher’s record was good. And he made two Super Bowl appearances, winning one.

But Nunn’s contributions, not just to the Steelers but the league, shouldn’t be overlooked. It was Nunn who spearheaded the Steelers’ efforts to draft players from historically black colleges in the early 1970s.

And when the Steelers began having success because of players such as John Stallworth, Mel Blount and others, the rest of the NFL followed suit.

Nunn should absolutely be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

• The offensive line often gets much of the blame when there are pass protection issues. But everyone overlooks the role of the quarterback and running backs in protection.

That is the biggest issue for the Steelers right now. Their line hasn’t played up to previous standards, but it hasn’t been as bad as some would lead you to believe.

The bigger issue is young quarterbacks and inexperienced running backs dealing with blitz recognition and pickups.

This week’s picks

Steelers (minus 3) at New York Jets: Hodges’ play last week was troubling, but the Steelers are the far healthier team. They listed no players on their injury report. The Jets, who have already placed nearly 20 players on injured reserve, list 11 players on the injury report. The Steelers will finally have a full complement of offensive skill players. That should allow them to do enough in this game to let the defense feast. Take the Steelers, 20-16

Baltimore (minus 9½) at Cleveland: The Browns whipped the Ravens, 40-25, back in Week 4 in Baltimore. Then, prior to playing the Steelers the second time, the Browns did a lot of talking about how there was a new king in the North, as if the Ravens didn’t exist. Baltimore is playing to lock up the top seed in the AFC playoffs. And playing with revenge. This one could get really ugly. Take the Ravens, 45-13

Cincinnati (minus 1) at Miami: If the weather wasn’t going to be a factor, the pick would be the home team. But rain is expected throughout this game, which will favor the team that runs the ball better. The Bengals have Joe Mixon. Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick leads the Dolphins in rushing. Take the Bengals, 17-14

Dallas (minus 1½) at Philadelphia: Another road favorite? Sure, why not? Though Dak Prescott’s injured shoulder is a concern, the Cowboys are in a better place than the banged-up Eagles. This will decide the NFC East title. Take the Cowboys, 24-20

Kansas City (minus 6) over Chicago: The Bears run an offense based off the Kansas City offense. The only difference is that the Chiefs have Patrick Mahomes. And Tyreek Hill. And Travis Kelce. And, you get the idea. The Bears don’t have those kind of playmakers. The Chiefs’ defense is improving and could be the difference. Take the Chiefs, 27-17

Last Week: 1-4 Overall: 39-34-1