I’m not sure I can recall a time since perhaps Kordell Stewart that the Pittsburgh Steelers ever entered a game with the explicit intention of using multiple different quarterbacks, with one of them serving a sub-package role, at least before this past week’s regular season finale.
With Ben Roethlisberger resting in preparation for Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns, the Steelers started Mason Rudolph at quarterback, and Joshua Dobbs dressed for the first time this season to serve as his backup—and more.
They broke out a sub-package in which the fourth-year quarterback replaced Rudolph and ran a read-option play, doing so more than half a dozen times throughout the game, at times situationally, for example on third and short, or when trying to get into field goal range on third and long.