With Ben Roethlisberger out and Mason Rudolph in as the Steelers' starting quarterback, there are bound to be some subtle changes in the team's offense as offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner adjusts his play calling to things the second-year quarterback likes to do.
But the overall offense itself? The Steelers aren't tearing up their playbook and starting over.
"Not at all," Mike Tomlin said Tuesday.
What will change, however, could be some of the players they do things with.
After starting each of the team's first two games, wide receiver Donte Moncrief could find himself on the bench in favor of second-year receiver James Washington.
Moncrief, a free agent signing in the offseason, has dropped five passes in his first two games, including his only target in last Sunday's 28-26 loss to the Seahawks. That Rudolph pass tipped off Moncrief's hands and into the arms of Seattle safety Bradley McDougald for an interception that set up a touchdown for the Seahawks.
"I don't know what to make of it," Tomlin said of Moncrief's struggles. "I know we haven't been able to depend on him to this point. He's got some challenges and we've got some challenges moving forward."
One of those would be getting Rudolph ready for his first start when the Steelers (0-2) travel to San Francisco to face the 49ers (2-0).
With Roethlisberger scheduled for season-ending surgery later this week, this is Rudolph's team for at least the rest of this season. And the Steelers want the second-year quarterback to be as comfortable as possible.
Considering the connection Rudolph has proven to have with Washington -- his teammate at Oklahoma State -- both in college and in the preseason since they joined the Steelers, playing Washington more would seem to make sense.
"I think that might be an unintended consequence of having both guys," Tomlin said of Washington, a second-round pick last year and Rudolph, who was a third.
"We've seen evidence of that in the time they've been here. That's a cool thing."
It would be even more "cool," if it led to a more consistent offense for the Steelers. They've converted just 6 of 23 third-down attempts in their first two games, scoring just 29 points. That's helped lead to a massive chasm in time of possession (34:10-25:51) in the first two games.
Turning things over from a future Hall of Fame quarterback to one making his first career start wouldn't seem to be the fix that's needed, but it's what the Steelers are forced to do after Roethlisberger suffered the elbow injury late in the first half against the Seahawks.
"We're disappointed for Ben. From a team perspective, we've got a lot of confidence in Mason," Tomlin said. "It's the natural process that is team sports. One man goes down, the next man steps up. We're excited about this opportunity for Mason. We're looking forward to rallying around him and meeting the expectations, to be quite honest with you. He's a second-year guy. We put a lot on second-year guys in terms of stepping up and growing. He's met some of those things."
Rudolph completed 12 of 19 passes for 112 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in the game.
Roethlisberger did experience some pain in his elbow following the team's season-opening loss to the Patriots, but Tomlin said that was nothing out of the ordinary.
"Not anything of any significance that would lead us in the direction we've gone, no," he said.
And while the Steelers have confidence in the abilities of Rudolph, they're also hopeful Roethlisberger can return in the future, something the 37-year-old expressed interest in doing in a statement he released Monday night.
"He fully intends to come back from this injury, and everything that we've heard, that is a strong possibility," Tomlin said, refusing to specify the exact nature of Roethlisberger's injury.
In the meantime, the Steelers also made two moves involving quarterbacks. Monday afternoon, they signed rookie Devlin Hodges from their practice squad to serve as the No. 2 to Rudolph against the 49ers. And Tuesday morning, they added former Broncos' first-round draft pick Paxton Lynch to their practice squad.
Hodges, who had been with the Steelers through training camp this year, was signed to the practice squad early last week when the Steelers traded former No. 2 quarterback Josh Dobbs to the Jaguars for a fifth-round pick. Lynch, 25, could be the long-term backup once he gets up to speed.
"He knows the ins and outs of what's going on. He provides the best short-term option at the quarterback position," Tomlin said of adding Lynch. “The fact he has practice squad eligibility provides awesome flexibility for us, where we can infuse him into the culture and teach and evaluate him without occupying a 53-man roster spot."