The Steelers are treating this week in the lead up to their third preseason game Saturday night against the Lions at Heinz Field as a mock work week for the regular season.
As such, Tuesday's practice was a mock Wednesday for the team and the Steelers had their offense and defense work against scout teams off play cards.
And there was a definitive pecking order as to how the quarterbacks were used. Ben Roethlisberger took snaps first. Then came Mason Rudolph. Finally, Dwayne Haskins went third, while Josh Dobbs didn't take a single snap.
When the scout team offense was on the field, Rudolph again went first there, with Haskins taking the field after him. Roethlisberger, the team's unquestioned starter, watched in those situations from the sideline.
That's the pecking order, and the Steelers feel good about where they are with that group.
Some have suggested there is a quarterback controversy for the Steelers -- at least behind Roethlisberger -- but that doesn't seem to be the case.
"Right now, we’re very comfortable, but I think it’s been fun to watch the guys push," offensive coordinator Matt Canada said. "There’s nothing wrong with wanting to improve. There’s nothing wrong with a respectful challenge. It’s always great. Everybody should want to be the starter, everybody should want that role, and also handling your role once it’s given to you. I think those guys are working well together. Sully (Quarterback coach Mike Sullivan) is doing a great job with them."
With Roethlisberger now 39, the quarterbacks behind him have taken on more meaning than perhaps ever before, especially after the quarterback missed all but six quarters of the 2019 season with an elbow injury that required surgery.
Roethlisberger started 15 games last season, sitting out a meaningless regular season finale at Cleveland in Week 17. He's admitted that he wore down as the season went on, in part because he averaged a league-high 40.5 passes per game, in part because of all the throwing he had to do to get his arm back into shape after surgery to reattach three torn tendons in his elbow.
Tuesday, he looked as sharp as he has throughout this training camp, connecting with JuJu Smith-Schuster on a long pass down the seam, then hooking up with tight end Eric Ebron on a deep crossing route more than 20 yards down the field for another big play. He finished off a very solid session with a rollout to his right, hitting Chase Claypool -- who later left practice with what is considered a minor ankle injury -- on a 20-yard out on the move that was a display of his arm strength.
"We wanted to take them through the structure of kind of a normal in-season Wednesday in terms of laying foundational things relative to this week’s opponent, talking about our high-volume stuff, our utilization of personnel, our work groups and things of that nature, how we intend to divide the labor up," Mike Tomlin said.
If that's the case, though Tomlin has only said that Roethlisberger will start that game, it appears Rudolph will continue in his role as the No. 2 quarterback and Haskins the No. 3.
It might not be what some fans want, but it's the reality of the situation.
While Haskins, a 2019 first-round pick of Washington signed in the offseason after his release, has played well in the preseason, so has Rudolph.
Haskins has completed 24 of 35 passes in this preseason for 215 yards and a touchdown. In last week's Week 2 win over the Eagles, Haskins led the offense to all of its points in a 24-16 win.
But Rudolph has completed 14 of 18 passes for 161 yards. And while he has yet to lead the offense on a scoring drive in the five possessions he's played in this preseason, there have been some extenuating circumstances, including a couple of holding penalties that killed otherwise promising drives.
"Mason's doing a good," Canada said of Rudolph, who has been Roethlisberger's primary backup the past two seasons. "Obviously, we stalled a little bit with some self-inflicted wounds both times he’s been out there, like putting the ball on the ground, couple penalties, and a play here and there. I think if you can measure the whole deal, he’s doing a pretty good job."
Rudolph has completed passes that have been the Steelers' two longest plays of the preseason, a 45-yard bomb to Claypool in the Hall of Fame game, and a 33-yard pass to Diontae Johnson against the Eagles. That's led to Rudolph averaging 8.9 yards per pass attempt in the preseason.
Haskins, meanwhile, is averaging 6.1 yards per pass attempt, which is actually lower than the career-low 6.3 yards per attempt Roethlisberger averaged last season.
But Haskins has taken care of the football and moved the team. And the Steelers view him as found money. He was signed this season to a one-year deal for the league minimum $850,000 with no guarantees of being on the roster.
He's at least earning his spot on the roster and into the conversation to be given a chance to be in the mix in 2022 if Roethlisberger retires after this season. More importantly, he's shown a maturity level that led to his release in Washington.
"I’ve been really pleased with the way Dwayne has come in and attacked his work," Canada said. "From day one, he’s come in to the office, learned the offense, and really worked hard to watch the things we’ve done here over a long history of years with Ben. Dwyane watches what Ben does, watches the way he reads plays, and comes in learning and watching all of the quarterbacks. He’s trying to look at what Ben’s done and how he does things.
"I think that shows a great sense of maturity on his part. There’s a lot to learn. It’s a different offense than he’s been in before. I like being around him. I’m very pleased with him and I think he’s gotten better every day."
But make no mistake, Roethlisberger is the unquestioned starter and Rudolph is the backup. And that's likely to be the case when the Steelers open the regular season Sept. 12 at Buffalo.
There are only two preseason games remaining, though Roethlisberger won't play in the finale at Carolina. Haskins has impressed, but Rudolph has done nothing to lose his job.
"We’re settled and in a good spot," Canada said before adding, "things could change tomorrow, that’s the beauty of football."