Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph) looks to throw the ball Sunday in Cleveland. Rudolph threw for 315 yards in his team's 24-22 loss.

Mason Rudolph found closure, it seems, with Myles Garrett in his return to Cleveland. The Pittsburgh Steelers backup quarterback may have found a longer-term future in the NFL, too.

There was no brawl this time. No avalanche of mistakes. Nothing but four quarters of competent and occasionally dynamic play from Rudolph in a regular-season ending 24-22 loss to Garrett and the playoff-bound Browns.

“I thought Mason’s performance was gritty,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said.

And while a chance for the intentionally undermanned AFC North champions (12-4) to upend Cleveland’s postseason hopes ended when Rudolph’s 2-point conversion heave to Chase Claypool sailed high, Rudolph looked far more polished than he did the last time he stood on the turf at FirstEnergy Stadium.

Rudolph completed 22 of 39 passes for a career-high 313 yards with two touchdowns and an interception while nearly rallying the Steelers from a 15-point deficit. Perhaps just as important, he and Garrett exchanged brief pleasantries afterward, a significant step for both following their ugly fight last November that ended with Garrett slugging Rudolph with his own helmet.

“Myles came over and said good game, postgame and that’s all it was,” Rudolph said. “I told him good luck. A lot of respect for him.”

Garrett, who did not register a sack or a quarterback hit, credited Rudolph’s resilience after the Steelers found themselves in a two-touchdown hole in the fourth quarter.

“He played tough,” Garrett said. “He had 300 yards and a couple of touchdowns. He played very well, and he kept them in it to the very end. Had to show a little praise that he did well in this game and he was able to make some big plays for them.”

Rudolph will return to his backup role when the Browns visit Heinz Field for the first round of the playoffs. Still, he pointed to the opportunity to fill in for Roethlisberger as a chance to show he can be a starter.

At times, Rudolph looked very much like a player who hadn’t seen any consequential action in over a year. Save for some mop-up duty in a couple of blowouts, Rudolph hadn’t played with anything on the line since a Week 16 loss to the New York Jets in December 2019.

Though he frequently takes reps with the first team on Wednesdays while Roethlisberger sits, Rudolph hadn’t been hit in almost 13 months after the preseason was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Maybe that’s why several times Rudolph patted the ball as he stood in the pocket thinking he had more time. He didn’t.