The Arizona Cardinals will face a rookie quarterback for only the second time this season when they face the Pittsburgh Steelers this weekend. Head coach Mike Tomlin announced Tuesday that Devlin “Duck” Hodges would be the starter against the Cardinals.
Hodges is an undrafted rookie out of Samford. He is 2-0 as a starter and led the Steelers to a third win when he replaced Mason Rudolph in the second half of their game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Tomlin has liked what he has seen from Hodges, especially on the road, although he recognizes his lack of experience.
“Duck will be our quarterback again this week,” he told reporters Tuesday. “He’s performed well in hostile environments but he just doesn’t have a big sample size. I like what I saw in L.A. I like what I saw in the second half in Cincinnati but he’s moving to his seventh quarter of road work.”
He was 14-of-21 passing for 212 yards, one touchdown and an interception on Sunday at home against the Cleveland Browns in a 20-13 win.
In his first NFL start, he led the Steelers to a 24-17 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on the road. He was 15-for-20 for 132 yards, one touchdown and one pick. In the second half in Cincinnati he completed 5-of-11 passes for 118 yards and a touchdown.
The Cardinals have the league’s worst pass defense and have allowed over 300 passing yards in six of the last seven games and over 400 in their last two.
However, they only allowed 156 total passing yards to New York Giants rookie quarterback Daniel Jones, the only game in the last seven they didn’t allow over 300 yards.
Hodges has been capable and has made big throws when he has needed to.
Pittsburgh will lean on their running game and defense to limit what he has to do.
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