{"id":51531,"date":"2025-05-15T07:48:10","date_gmt":"2025-05-15T07:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/51531\/"},"modified":"2025-05-15T07:48:10","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T07:48:10","slug":"staring-at-0-6-in-the-face-with-rudolph-orlovsky-thinks-steelers-are-completely-outclassed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/51531\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Staring At 0-6 In The Face:&#8217; With Rudolph, Orlovsky Thinks Steelers Are Completely Outclassed"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>On paper, the start of the Pittsburgh Steelers 2025 schedule looks less daunting than the end. But Dan Orlovsky thinks Pittsburgh could still begin with a historically ugly skid. Weighing in on the Steelers\u2019 schedule, Orlovsky offered a bold take.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. I think you\u2019re staring at 0-6 in the face,\u201d Orlovsky said on <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ESPNNFL\/status\/1922829592668025223?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1922829592668025223%7Ctwgr%5E85fbdbbd0460d459d9c27e45e5516a7a3e163fe4%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fsteelersdepot.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D817623action%3Dedit\" rel=\"nofollow\">ESPN\u2019s schedule reaction show<\/a> when asked about the team\u2019s chances if Mason Rudolph starts.<\/p>\n<p>Pittsburgh is banking on Rudolph opening the year as the team\u2019s backup with Aaron Rodgers signing and taking the lead role. If the Steelers\u2019 gamble doesn\u2019t pay off, Pittsburgh will arguably have the worse quarterback in most matchups. Over the first six games, they\u2019ll face Justin Fields, Sam Darnold, Drake Maye, J.J. McCarthy, whoever Cleveland decides on, and Joe Burrow.<\/p>\n<p>Fields, Darnold, Burrow, and Maye would universally be ranked over Rudolph. McCarthy is an unknown but if he plays to his first-round billing, will be the stronger candidate. Rudolph only confidently gets the nod over the Browns\u2019 mess of names and even then, <a href=\"https:\/\/steelersdepot.com\/2024\/09\/joe-flacco-calls-it-crazy-to-battle-beat-steelers-again\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Joe Flacco\u2019s proven he can still play.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>No matter who is under center, analyst Louis Riddick noted they better be ready for the blitz.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAaron Glenn will blitz him into oblivion,\u201d Riddick said. \u201cThe Seahawks, Mike McDonald, he\u2019s a pretty good defensive coordinator. The Patriots with that new defensive line up there in New England. The Vikings with Brian Flores. Man, come on.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Jets, Seahawks, and Patriots might not be the best teams in football but they\u2019re led by defensive-minded coaches who like to send pressure. And no defense looks to create as much chaos as Flores and the Vikings, who forced Rodgers into three interceptions in a 2024 win. Last year, Minnesota led the league in blitz rate (38.9-percent) while finishing top-six in pressure rate (25.3-percent) and sacks (49).<\/p>\n<p>Trading George Pickens left Pittsburgh without a top playmaker and counter to defenses who want to blitz and trust their coverage to win 1v1.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s an offense with only DK Metcalf on the perimeter,\u201d Orlovsky said of the Steelers\u2019 unit.<\/p>\n<p>If Pittsburgh began the season 0-6, it would be for the first time since 1968. Better known as the year before Chuck Noll arrived. The Steelers find ways to stay afloat and dig themselves out of holes, making a winless start through most of October doubtful. But an outlook that looks bleaker if Rodgers doesn\u2019t join.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On paper, the start of the Pittsburgh Steelers 2025 schedule looks less daunting than the end. But Dan&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":51532,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2026],"tags":[1586,1774,7,3239,560,57],"class_list":{"0":"post-51531","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-aaron-rodgers","9":"tag-dan-orlovsky","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-louis-riddick","12":"tag-mason-rudolph","13":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51531"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51531\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}