2019 was a challenging year for the Pittsburgh Steelers. They lost Ben Roethlisberger for the season in Week 2, and shortly after that, Mason Rudolph went out with a concussion. However, that opened the door for Devlin “Duck” Hodges. Hodges only appeared in eight games, with six starts, but he quickly became a fan favorite. He still greatly appreciates how supportive fans were of him, too. That played a big part in his favorite moment on the field in the NFL.
“I would say probably when we played the Browns at home…” Hodges said Monday on radio station 93.7 The Fan. “Take touchdowns, take all that out of it. I think there was a moment in the fourth quarter when the stadium started chanting, ‘Duck.’ I’m like, this is pretty cool. This is like my Rudy moment.”
Rudy is a movie that was released in 1993 and follows Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger. He dreams of playing football at the University of Notre Dame, and although there are many obstacles in his way, he eventually reached that goal, getting cheered on by fans. There are a lot of parallels between that story and Hodges’ journey.
In a vacuum, Hodges’ time with the Steelers doesn’t look too incredible. He recorded 1,063 passing yards, five passing touchdowns, and eight interceptions. That doesn’t seem like much to cheer for, but context matters.
Going into that season, Hodges wasn’t expected to suit up. He was an undrafted rookie sitting on the Steelers’ practice squad. However, he helped lead Pittsburgh to a win in his first career start. Then, after Rudolph returned and struggled, Hodges got the call again, helping the Steelers win three games in a row late in the season.
That game against the Cleveland Browns came in Week 13. The Steelers had lost their previous matchup against the Browns just a few weeks earlier, with that contest ending with Myles Garrett hitting Rudolph with a helmet. Therefore, there was a lot of bad blood between the two teams.
Hodges then put together arguably his best game of the season. He completed 14 of his 21 passes for 212 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. It wasn’t an immaculate performance, but it was enough for Pittsburgh to get the win.
Hodges followed that up with another win the following week, but his Rudy story ended shortly after. His play declined down the stretch, and he’d never play in a regular-season NFL game again. While he might not have been a superstar, he built up a lot of goodwill with the people of Pittsburgh. He’ll never make the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but he’ll always have that moment against the Browns.
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