Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph read a prepared statement Wednesday regarding his role in last week's brawl between the Steelers and Cleveland Browns on Thursday Night Football.

According to NFL.com's Nick Shook, Rudolph expressed regret for putting his teammates in a difficult situation:

"To say the least, it was an unfortunate situation for everyone involved. I consider it a privilege, not a right to be a part of the NFL. To be part of a first-class organization, to represent the Rooney family and the Pittsburgh Steelers. I fell short of that expectation last Thursday night.

"In how I played, I did not do a good enough job to help our team win the game. Looking back on the final play of the game, second-to-last play of the game, I fell short of the mark there, too. I should have done a better job of keeping my cool in that situation. In retrospect, I put Maurkice Pouncey, probably one of the best teammates I've ever had, in a tough spot, as well as my teammates."

During the closing seconds of Cleveland's 21-7 win over Pittsburgh, Rudolph and Browns defensive end Myles Garrett got into a tussle, and Garrett took off Rudolph's helmet and hit him in the head with it.

In retaliation, Pouncey kicked and punched Garrett, which resulted in ejections for both players.

The NFL suspended Garrett indefinitely and announced he would miss at least the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs. Pouncey was suspended three games, and Browns defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi was suspended one game. Rudolph was fined.

The quarterback called Garrett's actions "bush league" and "cowardly" after the game, but he said Wednesday that he does not harbor hard feelings toward Garrett:

"The way I saw it, on the final play of the game, with the game in hand the way it was, we'd already lost two of our players to targeting penalties from the game. As I released the ball, I took a late shot. Did not agree with the way he took me to the ground and my natural reaction was to just get him off from on top of me.

"Again, I should have done a better job of handling that situation. I have no ill will towards Myles Garrett, great respect for his ability as a player, and I know if Myles could go back, he would handle the situation differently. As for my involvement last week, there's no acceptable excuse. The bottom line is I should have done a better job of keeping my composure in that situation. I fell short of what I believe it means to be a Pittsburgh Steeler and member of the NFL."

While the Steelers will be without Pouncey on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, Rudolph will be under center for a 5-5 team that is in the thick of the AFC playoff hunt.

In addition to attempting to bounce back from the ugliness of last week's fight, Rudolph will look to improve upon his poor statistical performance, as he threw four interceptions against Cleveland.

The Steelers and Browns will meet again in Week 13, and there is little doubt that the players, coaches and officials will be on high alert to prevent the bad blood from boiling over.