Young QBs struggle as Steelers drop shootout in Green Bay

GREEN BAY, Wisc. — Suffice it to say, Landry Jones' job as the Pittsburgh Steelers backup quarterback is safe, and he didn't even attempt a single pass Thursday night.

The two young quarterbacks on the Steelers roster did little in a 51-34 preseason loss to the Green Bay Packers to show they are ready to unseat Jones as the No. 2 passer behind Ben Roethlisberger.

Rookie third-rounder Mason Rudolph, making his first professional start, had his first pass returned 25 yards for a touchdown and struggled to move the offense in the first half at Lambeau Field.

Then, second-year quarterback Josh Dobbs matched Rudolph by having his first attempt brought back for a score, this one covering 22 yards and giving the Packers a 41-14 lead.

Playing the entire first half, Rudolph completed 5 of 12 passes for 47 yards, one touchdown and that early pick six. He also was sacked three times — all in the second quarter when he was 1 of 5 for 4 yards — and had a 46.2 passer rating.

"I thought his demeanor and stuff was good," coach Mike Tomlin said. "We didn't play well, and he's not alone in that."

Dobbs played with the second- and third-teamers and fared better after his interception, leading the Steelers on three touchdown drives. He completed 12 of 18 passes for 192 yards and threw touchdown passes of 19 and 22 yards to James Washington.

The mistakes were many for the Steelers in terms of penalties, missed tackles and poor throws.

"You don't expect perfection this time of year,"Tomlin said, "but we fell short in a lot of areas."

The tone was set immediately. Just 13 seconds into the game, the Steelers trailed 7-0.

Rudolph dropped back to pass and looked left for wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey. Cornerback Tramon Williams jumped the route, stepped in front of Heyward-Bey and had a clear path to the end zone.

"Clean slate," Rudolph said. "That's the mindset."

Rudolph played eight other drives and didn't generate a first down on five of them. In the second quarter, the Steelers had minus-9 yards of offense.

On the two touchown drives Rudolph led, one consisted of three James Conner runs that netted 58 yards. The other began at the Packers 25 following a fumble recovery on the kickoff.

On that one, Rudolph completed both of his pass attempts: a 21-yarder to Jesse James and a 4-yard touchdown to JuJu Smith-Schuster that pulled the Steelers into a 14-14 tie.

"It's not the way you want to start at all, but I'm happy with the way we came back as an offense and put points on the board," Rudolph said.

Dobbs' first attempt of the third quarter was a toss to Damoun Patterson along the left sideline. Josh Jackson got in front of Patterson and scored on the 22-yard return.

"He just sat on it," Dobbs said. "He had an out route, and you think you're going to get a completion to warm up your game, but he did a great job. He read my eyes and made a great play."

First-round draft pick Terrell Edmunds, also making his first professional start, had mixed results, too. He was beaten by Packers tight end Jimmy Graham on Aaron Rodgers' 8-yard touchdown pass that put the Steelers in a 14-0 hole with three minute elapsed in the first quarter.

Edmunds, starting in place of injured safety Sean Davis, also was beaten on a fade to the right corner of the end zone. Tight end Robert Tonyan outmuscled Edmunds for the ball on the 1-yard pass from DeShone Kizer with 38 seconds left in the half that gave the Packers a 34-14 lead.

Edmunds provided a big play on special teams, forcing and recovering a fumble on the kickoff following the Steelers' first touchdown. This set up Rudolph's scoring toss to Smith-Schuster.

For the second week in a row, Conner showed he is a capable fill-in for Le'Veon Bell. Conner carried five times for 57 yards and a touchdown. His final three runs -- the extent of the Steelers' third drive -- went for 8, 24 and 26 yards for a score.

Washington, the second-round pick from Oklahoma State, had five receptions for 114 yards. In the third quarter, he came down with a pass in the right corner of the end zone, wrestling the ball away from cornerback Demetri Goodson for a 19-yard score. He had another combat catch for a score in the fourth quarter.

The defense, which didn't have Cam Heyward, T.J. Watt, Joe Haden, Davis and Mike Hilton in the lineup, gave up scoring drives on five of the Packers' six possessions in the first half.

Brett Hundley and DeShone Kizer put together touchdown drives for the Packers after Rodgers left following a brief appearance.

The defense also had some costly penalties. Daniel McCullers, starting at nose tackle, was an extra man on the field, and the penalty wiped out a third-down incompletion and set up Rodgers' touchdown pass to Graham.

Linebacker Jon Bostic was called for pass interference on a field-goal drive, cornerback Coty Sensabaugh was flagged for lowering his head to initiate contact on a touchdown drive, and backup corner Brian Allen was penalized for pass interference on the Packers' final touchdown drive of the half.

In the second half, Allen missed while trying to break up a pass for Jake Kumerow, and veteran safety Nat Berhe got turned around in pursuit, allowing Kumerow to run 82 yards for a touchdown.

"I understand this process is a learning one but, boy, we've got a lot to learn from on that video and we will," Tomlin said. "How we respond to this performance is probably more important than the performance itself."

Joe Rutter is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Joe at jrutter@tribweb.com or via Twitter @tribjoerutter.