Quarterback Aaron Rodgers' availability for Sunday's game in Chicago won't be determined until later in the week.
Before practice though, Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith talked about what he wants to see if Rodgers is to play.
"I just trust him," Smith said. "This isn't his first rodeo. Every player is different. It's not like I've been with him a number of years. I have a lot of trust in Aaron, and I know that he knows how to prepare and been in different circumstances like this before. And so whatever happens, I know it'll be good either way."
It's a week of double duty for Smith in regard to the quarterback position. He has to prepare two players – Rodgers and Mason Rudolph – to start.
"Been in these a few times, and that's why you always have to have contingency plans," Smith said. "We'll see how the week unfolds. It's my job to be ready either way. We got in a similar situation last year with Russ (Wilson) and Justin (Fields) in Week One, and that's our job to adapt.
"I give Mason a lot of credit. People talk about being a pro. That's a sign of a real pro, because Mason does a good job preparing every week. You're always one play away. You always hear these hypotheticals, and he was ready to roll and did a really nice job."
Rudolph stepped in for Rodgers to start the second half Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals and compiled a passer rating of 118.5, Rudolph's highest since his 124.0 passer rating Dec. 23, 2023 in a game against the Bengals.
Magic of plaster
While Smith dismissed a reporter's suggestion of aligning Rodgers out wide during the "tush push" fourth-down alignment, Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin didn't dismiss anything in regard to the responsibility for "covering" Bears quarterback Caleb Williams.
"All of us," said Austin. "It's going to be an all-day job – rush, coverage, being able to plaster, giving guys time to get there, knowing when you can come out of coverage to get them. So, everybody's going to be involved."
Williams, the Bears' second-year quarterback, was drafted first overall by the Bears in 2024. This season he has a passer rating of 89.9, with 52 carries for 272 yards and 3 touchdowns rushing and 2 receptions for 22 yards and a touchdown receiving.
Austin has a few magic words defensive players shout to one another to remain in coverage while the quarterback is scrambling.
"There are quite a few magic words," Austin said with a laugh. "This guy, he's an escape artist. He does a really good job of buying extra time moving around the pocket. If you give him open windows, he's going to get the ball down the field. If you give him a wide-open lane, he can take it and run it. And he is, he's dynamic, just a young player on the rise. And so, we're going to have to do a great job of plastering. We're going to have to do a really good job in terms of our rush lanes and making sure we try to keep him bottled up, because when he gets outside the pocket, that's usually when bad things happen to defense."
From Bengals I to Bengals II
On Oct. 16, the Bengals scored 33 points and gained 470 yards against the Steelers.
On Nov. 16, the Bengals scored 12 points and gained 297 yards against the Steelers.
Austin was asked what his unit did differently.
"We've been playing more consistently the last few weeks," he said. "The thing we are doing is keeping a lot of those big plays off of us, the field-flipping plays. In the first game, we didn't do a good job of that. And so, this game we did it and we have been doing it, and that's why I think we've been having an uptick in our performance.
"We still got a long way to go, but I think that's it, just the lack of explosives and being able to be solid in the run game has given us an opportunity to play more consistently these last few weeks."
A big part of that consistency has been the recent use of all-around defensive back Jalen Ramsey as the Steelers' full-time free safety.
"Not so much in terms of what we do differently coverage-wise," Austin explained. "It's just we're able to streamline some things in terms of guys being in position. In this grouping, (Ramsey)'s at nickel; in this grouping, he's at safety; in this grouping, he's at corner. We have less of that. And although he's really good at all those positions, it helps everybody else with him being in one position, and they're able to concentrate on their position and do that.
"So, I think that's more of the ripple effect. We're getting a little bit more continuity in that back end, and guys are getting used to working with people in the same positions, and the communication and all the things that go into that are really steady. You're not hearing it from a different guy. You might be saying the same things, but sometimes when you hear it from a certain guy, it rings. I think it's been a good part and parcel for us, keeping him in one spot."
