Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers hoped to play on Sunday against the Chicago Bears.
"He always wants to play," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said.
However, Tomlin decided on Saturday to hold Rodgers out of what turned out to be a 31-28 loss at Soldier Field in Chicago. Mason Rudolph started at quarterback one week after Rodgers sustained a broken bone in his left (non-throwing) wrist over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Rodgers was a limited participant in practice on Thursday and Friday. Tomlin expects the 41-year-old to play next Sunday when the Steelers host the Buffalo Bills.
"It was a prudent decision to make," Tomlin said of sitting Rodgers. "Certainly, it wasn't a fluid week for him. It was a fluid week for Mason in terms of reps and so forth. And, so, I think it would be in our rear view as we move forward. I'm hopeful of that."
Rudolph completed 24 or 31 passes for 177 yards and one touchdown with one interception in his first start of the season and 19th of his seven-year career. Rudolph threw a 3-yard scoring pass to Pat Freiermuth with 6:27 remaining to draw the Steelers within 31-28, but their final two drives ended with a punt and turning the ball over on downs.
"I thought he was game, he always is," Tomlin said of Rudolph. "He made plays for us, particularly in the fourth quarter, but as a collective, him included, we didn't do enough to win."
The Steelers led 21-14 late in the second quarter before the Bears scored 17 unanswered points to take a 31-21 lead. Rudolph got the Steelers within a field goal, but his pass on fourth-and-6 from the Bears' 47-yard line, intended for DK Metcalf, was knocked down by Jaquan Brisker with 17 seconds left, sealing the win for Chicago.
The loss dropped the Steelers into a first-place tie with the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North. Both are 6-5.
Rudolph said he was not nervous about stepping in for Rodgers, who has won four NFL MVP awards. Rodgers has completed 66.4 percent of his passes in his first season with the Steelers for 1,969 yards and 19 touchdown passes.
"I've got plenty of experience in this role, finding out at the beginning of the week, at the end of the week, in the middle of the week," Rudolph said. "That's the role of the backup quarterback. You've got to be ready whenever your number's called, and I felt ready."
Rodgers was on the sidelines to offer support, though Rudolph said the 21-year veteran was not intrusive.
"He knows this isn't my first time doing this, so he wasn't talking my ear off," Rudolph said. "But he provided some support and an extra set of veteran awesome eyes from the sidelines. You're obviously close from being in the same quarterback room, so he knows what it's like."