Whatever gap Dobbs created over then-rookie Mason Rudolph in 2018 is gone.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Josh Dobbs did all the right things last summer Byron Murphy Jersey , or at least enough of them for the Pittsburgh Steelers to cut veteran backup quarterback Landry Jones at the end of the preseason and promote Dobbs to the spot behind Ben Roethlisberger.Nine months later, none of it matters. 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 Andy Isabella Jersey , especially Mason,” 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 Zach Allen Jersey , I want to be the best, I want to find a way to make it better,” 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.” As Case Keenum convened the Minnesota huddle with 10 seconds left, the situation staring down the Vikings was as simple as it was daunting.

With the go-ahead field goal by the New Orleans Saints that silenced this deafening stadium still fresh in the air, the Vikings were well beyond any moment of anxiety. All that was left for Keenum to do on that last snap was to throw the ball up like he used to do in his Texas backyards and hope for the best.

Keenum completed his last-ditch heave near the sideline Sunday on the game’s final play to Stefon Diggs, who slithered away from the Saints for a 61-yard touchdown to give the Vikings a 29-24 victory and a spot in the NFC championship game at Philadelphia.

”At that point, I’m just a kid throwing a football to another big kid,” Keenum said with a smile, ”and he just runs and scores.”

One more win, against the Eagles Hakeem Butler Jersey , and the Vikings will become the first team to play in a Super Bowl on their home turf. Instead of the usual win-or-go-home stakes, they’re in a win-and-go-home situation.

”It never ends that way,” Diggs said. ”Usually, it’s reality. It’s life. So things go and you walk home and worry it about tomorrow.”

Instead, Drew Brees and the Saints were the ones trudging off the field in defeat.

”We’re still a bit shell-shocked after what happened there at the end,” said Brees, who steered the Saints in position for Wil Lutz’s 43-yard kick with 25 seconds remaining that punctuating a forceful rally from a 17-point deficit that stood until 1:16 was left in the third quarter.

The field goal was set up by a fourth-and-10 completion by Brees to Willie Snead for 13 yards to the Minnesota 33 with 40 seconds left. Brees connected with Michael Thomas for two of his three touchdown passes in a span of 3:09 that spilled into the fourth quarter. The second score was set up at the Minnesota 40 by an interception by Marcus Williams, when an off-balance throw into traffic by Keenum served as his one costly moment of recklessness, a ”bonehead play,” as he put it.

Keenum settled back in. He guided the Vikings to two more field goals by Kai Forbath, including a 53-yarder with 1:29 left that was his third of the game against his former team and gave them their lead back after a blocked punt by George Johnson had set up the Saints for a touchdown pass by Brees to Alvin Kamara.

Then came the play that put Keenum and Diggs in permanent rotation on the NFL’s all-time highlight reels.

”We knew there was still a possibility, still some hope Chris Lindstrom Jersey ,” Keenum said.

This wasn’t quite Franco Harris and the Immaculate Reception for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1972 playoffs, but these Vikings are on some kind of special path after turning to Keenum in the second game of the season after original starter Sam Bradford was sidelined by a knee injury.

The Vikings were out of timeouts and nearly out of options when Keenum dropped back from his 39 and threw high into a crowd. Diggs jumped in front of Williams, who rolled awkwardly underneath Diggs during an ill-fated attempt at making a low tackle.

Devastatingly for the Saints, nobody was behind him in the secondary, as Diggs made sure to note right before he made the break on his route during the play the Vikings, believe it or not, call ”Seven Heaven.”

Diggs kept his balance as he landed, kept his feet in bounds and kept on running untouched into the end zone as the crowd at U.S. Bank Stadium erupted with euphoria. Keenum raced around the field, looking for anyone to hug.

”I’m shocked. I don’t know what else to say. This is the first time ever I’m out of words,” Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen said.

Keenum, the undrafted and undersized all-time leading passer in NCAA history who was making his first career playoff start and has long looked up to Brees, was having a hard time finding the words to describe the experience. He finished with 318 yards http://www.lionsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-jahlani-tavai-jersey , going 25 for 40, with Diggs catching 137 yards on six catches.

”A heck of a game, wasn’t it?” head coach Mike Zimmer said. ”And the good guys won.”

Diggs was still in full uniform when he took the podium for his postgame interview, the ball from the winning catch resting safely in front of him on the lectern.

”It’s plays like this that you dream about your whole life,” he said, ”and it finally happens.”

PICKED OFF

Brees saw his 13th career postseason game end in a crushing final moment, his 25-for-40 performance for 294 yards tainted a bit by two interceptions before halftime. One came on a leaping grab by safety Andrew Sendejo , the other off a tip by Griffen that landed in Anthony Barr’s arms at the Minnesota 10-yard line midway through the third quarter.

FIRST-HALF FORCE

The Vikings came roaring out of their first-round bye, forcing punts by the Saints on their first three possessions and moving 55 yards in eight plays for a touchdown run by Jerick McKinnon on their first drive. Aided by two pass interference calls on Ken Crawley for 54 yards, the Vikings reached the 1-yard line before settling for a short field goal on the next possession. They pushed the lead to 17-0 early in the second quarter when Latavius Murray plowed in from the 1-yard line.

”The Vikings had a phenomenal game plan,” Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan said.

The only other time the Saints went scoreless in the first half of a postseason game was five years ago. They fell behind 16-0 at Seattle in the divisional round and lost 23-15 to the eventual Super Bowl champions.