The Steelers are two games into their season and replacing their injured starting quarterback with a young, untested player who made his career debut Sunday after the starter was injured.
No, this isn't 2004, when Ben Roethlisberger replaced Tommy Maddox as the team's starter when Maddox was injured in a Week 2 loss at Baltimore.
This is 16 years later, with Mason Rudolph replacing Roethlisberger, who suffered a season-ending elbow injury in Sunday's 28-26 loss to the Seahawks at Heinz Field.
But the feeling on the team is very much the same. While Rudolph is a second-year player and Roethlisberger was a rookie when he took over for Maddox, their experience heading into that first career start will be the same.
If the Steelers (0-2) don't think it's possible for a team to rally around a young starting quarterback, they need to look no further than their own history to find an example.
Roethlisberger was 12 of 20 for 176 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in that 30-13 loss at Baltimore, while Rudolph went 12 of 19 for 112 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in the loss to the Seahawks.
The difference? The team is taking a much different tack with Rudolph starting than it did in 2004, when it became apparent Roethlisberger would get the nod the next week in Miami.
"Exciting?" All-Pro guard Alan Faneca replied when asked at the time if he felt that way about moving forward with Roethlisberger at quarterback. "No, it's not exciting. Do you want to go work with some little young kid who's just out of college?"
This time around, it's more of a rally-around-the-kid feeling as the Steelers prepare to head to San Francisco to face the 49ers without their star quarterback.
"We’re all kind of shocked. It’s surreal," All-Pro guard David DeCastro said. "But it is what it is. We’re football players. Let’s go see what we’re made of."
"He’s been here and he’s got a year under his belt. We don’t need to say anything," DeCastro continued, talking about Rudolph. "This is a good culture with good guys. We’re going to do everything we can to support him; the coaches, as well."
The Steelers have had more than a year to get to know Rudolph, a 2018 third-round draft pick, and feel confident in his ability to be a leader.
Then again, Rudolph is all the team's got with Roethlisberger definitely out for the rest of this season.
"We don’t have choice. Mason is certainly capable of getting the job done. He’s shown that," wide receiver Ryan Switzer told me. "He’s a very confident individual. He always prepares to play, no matter what. I don’t think there’s too much we have to do to get him ready. I think he’s ready for that challenge. We’ll adjust accordingly."
That 2004 team did rally around Roethlisberger. The Steelers leaned more on their running game and a very good offensive line.
This team has some of those same components in place, though the Steelers haven't run the ball effectively in their first two games, averaging just 56.5 yards per game in the first two weeks.
Pro Bowl running back James Conner also left Sunday's game in the fourth quarter with a knee injury, but appears to be OK. DeCastro knows the Steelers will need to do a better job of establishing a running game to take the pressure off Rudolph.
"You can’t throw the ball for him, but you want to give him the most support around him," DeCastro said. "You want to block for him as long as you can. We want to have a balanced offense, and I feel like the coaches will do a good job with that. Obviously, everyone has to step up a little bit."
Receiver James Washington played with Rudolph at Oklahoma State, where the pair formed a record-setting duo. They then both joined the Steelers last season, Washington as a second-round pick and Rudolph a round later.
They've shown a nice connection in the past two preseasons, but Washington said Rudolph will take what is given to him and run the offense effectively.
"He watches film and he studies," Washington said. "What he sees from that week of preparation, you see him taking that into the game. We all have faith in him around here. We’re going to make plays for him."
And Washington doesn't expect the stage to be too big for the 24-year-old.
He has high expectations for his college teammate to continue making big plays.
"That’s what he’s done his whole life," Washington said. "For him to step in and do what he’s done his whole life, I think it will be easy for him."
That might be a big ask. After all, the Steelers didn't ask much of Roethlisberger when he stepped in his rookie season. While they went 13-0 in games started by the rookie the rest of the way -- Maddox started the regular season finale in Buffalo -- Roethlisberger never threw more than 28 passes in a game.
The game has changed dramatically since then to more wide-open passing attacks. And if Rudolph has to throw the ball, it's up to the guys around him to make plays.
"Our leader went down. But we’ve got some older offensive guys that we look to," Switzer told me. "We’ve got 14 games left. This can’t be the end. We owe it to this organization, we owe it to each other, we owe it to the fans. We’ve got to find a way to pull it together, no matter who is out there. We’re ready to take on the challenge and make the most of it."
