Mason Rudolph isn't Ben Roethlisberger. But to lift his winless team out of an early-season hole, the Pittsburgh Steelers' new starting quarterback will have to take a page from the franchise icon he's replacing.

Asked about the Steelers' struggles to move the ball in a loss to the San Francisco 49ers last week, offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner stressed on Friday how crucial it is that Rudolph take deep shots down the field when good opportunities to do so present themselves.

“We were able to go down the field early,” he said, via Josh Rowntree of 93.7 The Fan. “You’ve got to throw them. You’ve got to throw it. You’ve got to attempt to throw it there. Whether he’s hesitant or felt uncomfortable or didn’t like the matchup, all of those things go into play… I’m not second guessing Mason at all. We’re going to try and be as aggressive as we can be.”

Rudolph didn't disagree with Fichtner's critique, either, admitting he passed on several chances to be aggressive early in Pittsburgh's 24-20 loss to San Francisco.

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“Opportunities in the first quarter, really the first couple drives, I could’ve been a little more aggressive toward,” he said, per Pro Football Talk's Josh Alper. “Learning experiences. I’m an aggressive person. That’s who I’ve always been at the quarterback position, so a little unlike me. Mistakes you look forward to cleaning up.”

Rudolph went 14-of-27 for 174 yards, two touchdowns, and one interceptions against the 49ers, similarly pedestrian numbers to those he put up during his first career start in a Week 2 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.