This is home: Football is a game where you never know when your opportunity might arise, and that was the case for quarterback Mason Rudolph on Sunday.

Starter Aaron Rodgers suffered a left wrist injury in the first half, and it was Rudolph who would take over in the second half.

“You never know when it’s going to come, but you always have little jitters first time going back all year,” said Rudolph, who only saw very limited action against the Seahawks in Week 2. “When we’re running the ball the way we were and then a couple guys made a couple nice plays on third and extra long, Darnell (Washington) on that check-down, Kenny (Gainwell) on that kind of flare route, two touchdowns right when we needed it the most was huge.

“We ran the ball really well. I barely got touched. So, offensive line, hats off to them. It was a lot of fun.”

Rudolph said he learned he was going into the game during halftime from Rodgers.

“I saw what you guys saw, which was Aaron kind of go down, gingerly a little bit, but I wasn’t sure the severity, and I’m still really not sure, either,” said Rudolph. “We talked in the locker room, and he said, ‘hey, you’re going.’

“We appreciate (offensive coordinator) Arthur Smith and (quarterbacks coach) Tom (Arth) working with me to get to the stuff that I like in the game plan and tailoring it to kind of my favorites. That’s how it went.”

Rudolph completed 12 passes for 127 yards and a touchdown, doing exactly what was needed and asked of him.

“We won, and that’s the only objective,” said Rudolph. “I thought once I settled down a little bit…I had a couple errant ones early, but just tried to get it to our guys. They played a lot of soft one I-zone, so weren’t letting a whole lot of stuff go over the middle.

“I thought our run after the catch was huge. From Darnell, running over people on third and 12 or 15, to Kenny. It was a lot of fun.”

Coach Mike Tomlin said there is a calmness when putting in a player like Rudolph, who is familiar with the Steelers offense. Rudolph, who spent his first four seasons with the Steelers, before playing for the Tennessee Titans in 2024, agreed that familiarity breeds comfort.

“I really was thankful for the opportunity that I had last year in Tennessee, the way things worked out, to get a different perspective on football,” said Rudolph. “But coming back here, just so much comfortability from the people that you see in the tunnel that work the security, the friendly faces there on the field, Joseph Maroon, one of the doctors. It really feels like home, some of the great relationships.

“It’s very comfortable to come back in, and you just know where everything is. You’ve won games here, and that gives you confidence.

“I love playing here. This is where I was drafted, and this is home. Yeah, very special.”