PITTSBURGH (AP) — Josh Dobbs did all the right things last summer Ryan Switzer Jersey , or at least enough of them for the Pittsburgh Steelers to cut veteran backup quarterbackDobbs to the spot behind Ben Roethlisberger.Nine months later, none of it matters.Whatever gap Dobbs created over then-rookie Mason Rudolph in 2018 is gone. It’s not an indictment of the ever-meticulous Dobbs so much as a return to the way the Steelers prefer to do business. When Dobbs and Rudolph report to training camp at Saint Vincent College next month with 88 of their teammates, they’ll once again be in a fight for the opportunity to be the first option off the bench.“They understand it is competition and it’s open,” offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner said Wednesday. “But to me, that position is always going to be open no matter who is here. That battle is every single day trying to put us in the best position when if Ben is not in the game, that we have put the right guy in to give us a chance to win the game.”Even if those chances will be focused entirely on the short term.Roethlisberger signed a new contract in April that runs through 2021. Great news for the Steelers, not so much for the two players taken a year apart in the draft — Dobbs in the fourth round in 2017, Rudolph in the third round in 2018 — who saw any real shot at becoming an NFL starter blocked indefinitely, at least as long as they play in Pittsburgh. Dobbs’ deal expires after 2020 and Roethlisberger’s extension coincides with the entirety of Rudolph’s rookie pact.Not that Rudolph is particularly interested in trying to big picture things.“I’m not talking about contracts,” Rudolph said with a respectful shrug. “That’s what it is. Football, you’re either one play away, two plays away sometimes so you’ve got to be ready to go and you’ve got to prepare like you are the starter.”Something Rudolph looks a bit more like this spring than last. The tentativeness that nagged at him as he tried to absorb Fichtner’s playbook has vanished. The former Oklahoma State star has looked far more confident with the ball in his hands and the uncertainty in his voice while barking out signals is gone. Even the guy Rudolph tongue-in-cheek referred to as “Mr. Roethlisberger” has noticed.“They are more comfortable, especially Mason Mason Rudolph Jersey ,” Roethlisberger said. “The first year your head is kind of spinning a little bit. You see him settling into it a lot. And he’s not afraid to step to whatever group, whatever receiver. In the past, he might have felt hesitancy to throw to certain guys.”Maybe because Rudolph understands snaps are precious. There weren’t many to go around for him once the regular season started last fall save for the occasional work on Wednesdays while Roethlisberger watched from the sideline as part of a scheduled day off. Rudolph knew it was coming. That didn’t make the adjustment any easier.His goal is to not let it happen again. If there was a silver lining — at least for Rudolph — in the team’s failure to reach the playoffs, it was the opportunity to do a deep dive into Fichtner’s system.“I can get kind of into a little bit of a nerd mentality at times in the offseason,” Rudolph said. “It’s fun. It was fun studying. Back here ready to go and put it on display.”Rudolph isn’t the only one in the quarterback room that’s a self-professed nerd. Until he unseated Jones last summer, Dobbs was a bit of a curiosity, as well known for his degree in aerospace engineering as his ability to throw a football. He excelled during an extended audition in the preseason — passing for 434 yards and four touchdowns — and suddenly found himself as the primary backup.Dobbs threw meaningful passes in two games, completing a 22-yarder with the team deep it its own end against Baltimore in early November then went 4 for 9 for 24 yards and an interception on the road in Oakland after Roethlisberger exited with a rib injury.While Dobbs feels he did enough to remain second on the depth chart, he’s not exactly pouting. He’s watched Rudolph’s progress over the past 12 months. Dobbs knows if he doesn’t continue to improve, he’ll find himself falling behind or maybe even looking for work come early September.That’s why getting worked up over the potential ripple effects of Roethlisberger’s contract is useless. There’s so much to focus on right now, wondering what his career might look like in two years is pointless.“I want to compete, I want to be the best, I want to find a way to make it better Ernie Stautner Jersey ,” Dobbs said. “Whatever it is, I’m trying to build the next fighter jet or I’m trying to be the starting quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers or if it’s dodgeball. I want to be the best dodgeball player out there and if I’m not, I want to figure out how can I get there.” CINCINNATI (AP) — The Bengals‘ depleted defense went with an all-out blitz, hoping to push the Steelers out of field goal range. Instead, Ben Roethlisberger threw a short pass that Antonio Brown turned into a 31-yard touchdown with 10 seconds left, and the Bengals’ litany of last-second losses grew with another mindboggling finish.Brown’s catch-and-run into the end zone gave Pittsburgh a 28-21 victory Sunday that evened up the AFC North and left the Bengals (4-2) trying to figure out what happens next. That final play will stick with them for a while.Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said Monday that he decided to blitz in hopes of pushing the Steelers (3-2-1) out of Chris Boswell’s range. The Steelers trailed 21-20 and could have won with a field goal.“We just decided to go after them,” Austin said. “I want our guys to play aggressive, we’re playing to win, and they had a good play called.”When Roethlisberger saw the Bengals had no safety guarding against a big play, he knew Brown would have a clear path to the end zone. He took the snap and quickly tossed it to Brown, who ran untouched for Pittsburgh’s seventh straight win in the series.In the aftermath, the Bengals were left trying to pick up the pieces of a defense that lost numerous players and is headed to Kansas City for a game Sunday night. The Chiefs (5-1) have one of the league’s top offenses and are coming off a 43-40 loss to New England.Linebacker Nick Vigil left in the first quarter with an injured left knee and is out indefinitely. Cornerback Darqueze Dennard hurt his right shoulder late in the first half and didn’t return. Safety Shawn Williams left with a concussion in the third quarter. Others were in and out of the lineup with injuries.The defense starred in Cincinnati’s solid start, scoring three touchdowns and finishing off three games by getting turnovers. With a chance to end the Bengals’ streak of abysmal finishes against the Steelers Joe Haden Jersey , the defense failed to hold on.The Steelers got the ball at their 23-yard line with 1:12 left and three timeouts. Roethlisberger completed passes of 8 and 10 yards to JuJu Smith-Schuster. A holding call on cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick provided a first down.Roethlisberger completed another pass that Smith-Schuster turned into a 23-yard gain and put them in field goal range with 15 seconds left and two timeouts. That play put the Steelers in position to pull it out.“That was one there that he found the hole in the coverage,” Austin said. “Every coverage has got a little bit of a weakness in it, and where they hit us was right behind the linebackers and just in front of the safeties.”Although Boswell has struggled this season, he has never missed a kick at Paul Brown Stadium. He had a game winner with 14 seconds left in Pittsburgh’s 18-16 playoff victory in 2015. He had another on the final play of a 23-20 victory last December.Austin decided to take a chance with a blitz, hoping to drop a runner for a loss or sack Roethlisberger, rather than leave Boswell in position to kick another game winner.“I didn’t want to leave it into the field goal kicker’s hands and allow him because it’s not every day you block a field goal,” Austin said.DEFENDING BURFICT: Coach Marvin Lewis declined again on Monday to address linebacker Vontaze Burfict’s latest hit to Brown’s head . Burfict hit Brown in the shoulder and helmet with his forearm as the receiver was being tackled by Shawn Williams and Jessie Bates.Brown was shaken up and left the game for a couple of plays. The officials didn’t flag the play, but the NFL could discipline Burfict after reviewing it. Burfict was suspended by the league for hitting Brown in the head during the 2015 playoff game and was suspended for the start of the next season. He also was suspended for the first three games of the 2017 season for an egregious hit during a preseason game. He sat out the first four this year for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances.“Everybody makes a comment on everything that 55 does,” Lewis said, using Burfict’s number. “They don’t comment on anything anybody else does, so let’s leave it at that.”