(Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
In the regular-season finale against the Cleveland Browns this past Sunday, the Steelers added a new wrinkle to their offense by having a package for third-string quarterback Josh Dobbs. The new scheme worked relatively well, as Dobbs rushed for 20 yards on two carries.
The Steelers have been dreadful at running the ball this year, ranking dead last in yards per game (84.4) and yards per attempt (3.6). They have also struggled to run the ball in short-yardage situations. Dobbs brings a different dimension as a mobile quarterback and can run the read-option, which gives the defense another thing to account for and think about.
Mike Tomlin was asked at his weekly press conference whether Dobbs would be available on Sunday night against the Browns in the wild-card game, as the Steelers normally dress just two quarterbacks -- Ben Roethlisberger and Mason Rudolph.
"We are going to have that discussion as an offensive staff. We meet a little bit this afternoon," Tomlin said on Tuesday. "It was good to have both guys in the stadium. Both guys helped their cause. Neither guy hurt their cause. We talked openly about what Josh (Dobbs) brings that is a little bit different that maybe levels the playing field and creates things to work on and think about. That is an asset to him. We will ponder those possibilities and make an appropriate decision that best benefit us. Maybe it is one or the other in regard to them, maybe it is both guys. All things are on the table as we work to put ourselves in position to win this football game."
On Wednesday, Roethlisberger was asked about the idea of having a package for Dobbs in
the playoff game against the Browns and he was on board with it.
"I am all for it. I literally will do whatever it takes to win this football game," Roethlisberger said. "You never know what you are going to see."
It should be interesting to see if Dobbs gets some snaps on Sunday night in possibly short-yardage situations to help boost the run game. The only issue with Dobbs coming on the field is that it would take snaps away from Roethlisberger, so the Steelers will have to be very selective when to give Dobbs snaps, especially being that it's a playoff game and not a meaningless Week 17 game.
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