Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said on Tuesday that Ben Roethlisberger will not play against the Browns this weekend, while Mason Rudolph will instead get the start in Cleveland.
Tomlin acknowledged that the Steelers (12-3), who have already won a playoff spot and the AFC North title, can rest more starters on Sunday, but as of now Roethlisberger is the only one he has named.
“It doesn’t change our intentions to go to Cleveland this weekend,” said Tomlin. “Football is our game. Our job is winning. We plan to do our job. We plan to prepare with that mindset. And ultimately we lead us to that destination. We don’t seek comfort. We settle down. ourselves not on a bend.
“This game is on the schedule and so the guys who are on the field will represent us in the standard, that is, the Pittsburgh Steelers will be the standard.”
Tomlin stressed that while a few other players can rest ahead of the playoffs, Sunday’s encounter with the Browns will not be a team made up entirely of backups, in part due to health concerns. Instead, he said, they’ll likely operate in a rotation that limits the number of snapshots from some starters, while giving the healthy backups opportunities to play.
“This is not a pre-season game where we play backups, where we have players 54 to 75 to evaluate and things like that,” he said. “We’ve got one NFL soccer team. That NFL soccer team is going to play minus Ben and maybe another guy or two. I don’t want to get more out of it than what it is from that perspective.”
Rudolph’s start comes a year after a fight marred the teams’ end of the game in Cleveland. Browns star Myles Garrett was banned for ripping off Rudolph’s helmet and swinging it, hitting the quarterback in the head, with seconds to go.
With Garrett suspended and Rudolph on the bench for the rematch last year, Sunday will be the first time the two have played against each other since the incident.
“I didn’t have a chance to talk to him about it,” Tomlin said of Rudolph’s return to Cleveland. “But I’m sure he’s excited about a chance to start.”
Cleveland (10-5) could make it to the play-offs with a win on Sunday, but Tomlin said his team isn’t necessarily motivated by the ability to keep the Browns out of the postseason.
“Motivation and intentions and all those things, that’s good water cooler feed and I get it,” said Tomlin. “This is a scheduled competition. Our business is to win. We are going to prepare with that mindset. That will remain unchanged in terms of how we go about it. … I know what our mindset will be. I know what our mindset will be. “Mentality will be. Intentions will be. We’re going to play football.”