Titans' Rudoph delivers steady relief performance in team's first win

In the end, it may have been more what Mason Rudolph didn’t do — as opposed to what he did — that helped lead the Titans to their first win of the season.

Coming on in relief of injured starter Will Levis in the first quarter of Monday night’s game in Miami, the Titans’ reserve quarterback didn’t exactly awe a national television audience with aerial fireworks.

He didn’t have to.

What Rudolph did do was manage the game effectively, completing 9-of-17 passes for 85 yards while guiding the Titans on seven scoring drives — even if only one was for more than 30 yards.

What Rudolph didn’t do was turn the football over, which had been by far the biggest reason the Titans had lost their first three games. They entered the game with a minus-seven turnover differential, thanks to Levis’ eight turnovers — which crept to nine with his first-quarter interception — and hadn’t recorded a single defensive takeaway.

Rudolph kept a clean sheet in that department on Monday and didn’t make any awful decisions either, allowing the Titans’ running game and defense to do most of the heavy lifting in Tennessee’s 31-12 victory over the Dolphins.

“I didn’t do a whole lot,” Rudolph told reporters. “Tony [Pollard] and the O-line and Tyjae [Spears] just mauled them up front. We moved the ball and controlled the ball in the second half and got out with the win.”

The 29-year-old Rudolph entered the game with 4:14 left in the first quarter, after Levis hurt his right shoulder while diving for a first down and coming up just short.

It was the first regular-season game action for Rudolph since the end of 2023, when the five-year veteran guided Pittsburgh into the playoffs with three straight victories.

“Everything about Mason is professional,” Titans coach Brian Callahan said. “He didn’t bat an eye when he walked in the game. Our guys didn’t bat an eye. He did exactly what you want a guy like that to do in that situation, come in and operate. He was pretty clean operation wise. We got the plays called. All those things were really good.”

Rudolph was responsible for some important contributions on his first series, as he hit Josh Whyle for a third-down conversion and connected with Treylon Burks for 13 yards to set up Nick Folk’s first field goal.

His biggest moment came at the end of the first half, when the Titans took over at their own 44-yard line with just 16 seconds remaining. Rudolph hit Tyler Boyd on a beautiful 27-yard shot down the middle of the field. Then he hustled the offense up to the line of scrimmage and spiked the ball with one second left, allowing Folk to hit a field goal that put the Titans up 9-3.

“Fantastic execution by both Mason and Tyler, and then the whole offense in that spot,” Callahan said. “That’s a play that is designed for that kind of chunk, about a 25-yard chunk, and hustling up. Sixteen seconds is tight. That’s about as tight as we would ever do that and be able to get a ball clocked on a chunk gain … It was really fun to see those guys execute in that spot.”

Rudolph finished the first half 8-of-14 for 80 yards, but he hardly exercised his throwing arm for much of the second half, completing just 1-of-3 passes for five yards.

Offensively, the Titans controlled the game by running 23 times for 94 yards and two touchdowns in the final 30 minutes. Defensively, the Titans held the Dolphins out of the end zone until 3:36 remaining.

“I think the key to every win is running the ball,” Rudolph said. “Usually if you can control the ball and take some pressure off … then you don’t have to sit there and pass protect against two great edge guys. It makes football easier. Proud of the offensive line. They controlled the trenches and the backs ran great.”

Callahan made it clear after the game that Levis — despite the continued turnovers — will return to the starter’s role as soon as he’s healthy. That could be as early as the Titans’ next game, Oct. 13 against Indianapolis.

But if Levis isn’t ready by then, the Titans now have even more confidence that Rudolph is capable of playing solid, steady and — most importantly — mistake-free football when called upon.

A third-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2018, Rudolph has an 8-4-1 record as a starter.

“He was prepared and ready to go,” Callahan said. “He’s a pro. That’s why we brought him in for a situation like this and he did a nice job.”

This article was first published by our sister publication the Nashville Post.