Big Ben to play against Browns; too much at stake

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By Tom Withers, Associated Press 10:32 PM Saturday, December 31, 2011

CLEVELAND — Ben Roethlisberger has played on one leg before and he’s willing to do it again.

Roethlisberger has never let pain stop him, and Pittsburgh’s tough-as-the-steel city-he-plays-in quarterback certainly won’t let it slow him this week. Not now, not with a possible division title and playoff seed at stake.

Let’s face it, the Steelers just aren’t the Steelers without him.

Despite a high ankle sprain that has limited his mobility and would probably sideline lesser QBs, Roethlisberger intends to play today — at least at the start — as the Steelers (11-4) play their regular-season finale against the Browns (4-11), who never doubted for a second that they would have to deal with Pittsburgh’s top gun as well.

“Big Ben, we’ve always got to count on seeing him,” Browns linebacker D’Qwell Jackson said.

They can also count on seeing Steelers linebacker James Harrison, who three weeks ago blasted quarterback Colt McCoy with his helmet and hasn’t shown much repentance for his illegal hit that gave McCoy a season-ending concussion.

This one’s big for the Steelers, who must win to keep pace with Baltimore (11-4) atop the AFC North.

The Ravens hold the tiebreaker after beating the Steelers twice during the regular season, so Pittsburgh needs to beat Cleveland and hope Cincinnati can knock off Baltimore. If that happens, the Steelers will have their fourth division title in five years.

If the Steelers win and the Ravens and New England Patriots lose, Pittsburgh will be the No. 1 seed and play at home throughout the postseason. If Pittsburgh loses and Baltimore wins, the Steelers will be the No. 5 seed and play on the road in the wild-card round.

With both games starting at 4:15 p.m., Steelers wide receiver Mike Wallace said it will be tough not to sneak a peek at the score going on in Ohio’s other NFL outpost: “It’s gonna be hard not to look at it because those guys (the Ravens) are determining which seed we’ll be in the playoffs.”

Breakdown

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is 13-1 against the Browns in his career, which began in 2004 when the Steelers drafted him No. 11 overall. The Browns several picks earlier selected tight end Kellen Winslow Jr., now with Tampa Bay.

Cleveland has not swept the season series against the Steelers since defeating them 23-9 at Three Rivers Stadium and 27-7 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium in 1988.

Pittsburgh owns the Browns since the 1970 NFL merger, going 53-25 against them.

If the Steelers shut out the Browns, it will mark their third shutout of the season, the second time since 1960 they have recorded three or more (5 in 1976). ASSOCIATED PRESS

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