He took over at quarterback when Kenny Pickett was hurt and helped the Steelers advance to the playoffs, where they will meet the Buffalo Bills at 1 p.m. Sunday.
It’s been a bit of a feel-good tale to witness Rudolph, who was previously ignored on the Steelers depth chart, help save the team’s season.
But, in the end, it may not be as compelling as the story presented by UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh on Thursday.
The hospital shared a video of a young patient taking a few steps gingerly. Those were some significant moves, it turns out.
“Last week, at this time, Isaac couldn’t walk,” the hospital stated. “Today, motivated by the Pittsburgh Steelers’ playoff run, he decided to try walking! Isaac is taking his first steps at our (Steelers) pep rally and hopes that one day we will be cheering for him in Black and Gold!”
Rudolph spotted this and sent Isaac a message via video on the team’s X, formerly Twitter, platform.
“Hey Isaac, Mason Rudolph here,” the quarterback adds, smiling. “I just wanted to check in and say congratulations, man. I watched the video of your first few steps walking again. Very cool. Very inspirational. I wish you a healthy recovery, man. Thank you for supporting the Steelers. Thank you for cheering us on. Also, I hope you can watch the game this weekend.
Steelers supporters will undoubtedly not win on the field this weekend, but it’s difficult to argue that the team, Rudolph, and Isaac haven’t already won off the field this week.
