Big Ben Scares Steelers In 31-0 Rout Of Browns

PITTSBURGH -- Losing couldn't hurt the Steelers. Being badly outplayed couldn't, either. Nothing mattered in a less-than-meaningless game against the Browns, except for staying healthy.

They almost didn't accomplish that.

The Steelers dominated the embarrassed Browns 31-0 on Sunday, but got a major scare when quarterback Ben Roethlisberger sustained a concussion while being leveled by Willie McGinest and D'Qwell Jackson late in the second quarter - a few minutes before he was expected to leave the game.

Roethlisberger lay on the turf for nearly 15 minutes as his helmet was removed, his neck was stabilized and the crowd of 63,553 grew eerily silent. The only murmurs came from fans who may have been questioning why one of the Steelers' key players was on the field in a game that had no effect on their season or their playoff position.

Luckily for the Steelers, it could have been much worse. Tests revealed no other problems and the injury is not expected to keep Roethlisberger out of their divisional playoff game Jan. 11.

"When you have a key player like Ben - he's the nucleus of our offense - go down like that, leading into the playoffs, it's kind of tough," safety Tyrone Carter said. "But everybody was saying he was OK. All the tests came back negative. So we've got a week of rest that's going to be helpful for him."

Much like playing the worse-than-bad Browns (4-12) benefited the Steelers (12-4) in a game they wanted to win to keep their momentum - they've won six of seven - but didn't need to win to preserve their No. 2 seeding in the AFC playoffs.

Coach Mike Tomlin, remembering how the Steelers went into the playoffs sagging a year ago after losing three of their final four, played his starters most of the way, and the plan worked perfectly until Roethlisberger was hurt.

Tomlin's players backed his decision, even though the Colts and Titans sat some key starters Sunday under similar circumstances.

"We rested last year and it didn't get us anywhere," Hines Ward said, recalling how most starters were held out against Baltimore the week before a playoff loss to Jacksonville. "It's our last dress rehearsal for two weeks. Sit all the guys out, now you've put us at three weeks (resting), and you get some rust."

The Steelers didn't score until Willie Parker's 34-yard run with 4:07 left before halftime, shortly before Roethlisberger was hurt, but Byron Leftwich took over for Roethlisberger to scramble 8 yards for a touchdown in the final minute of the half.

Parker, held to 101 yards in his previous three games, finished with 116 yards in only his second 100-yard game since he ran for 105 in Cleveland on Sept. 7.

Offensively and defensively, the Browns offered little resistance in a performance so bad that they didn't wait to return to Cleveland for changes to begin.

General manager Phil Savage is out, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press, and coach Romeo Crennel is expected to follow Monday after the Browns didn't score an offensive touchdown in 24 quarters, an NFL record, during their final six games.

"We couldn't execute on offense, we couldn't stop them on defense," cornerback Brandon McDonald said. "That's pretty much been us all year."

The Browns didn't come close to getting into the end zone, something the offense never did following Jerome Harrison's 72-yard TD run in the fourth quarter Nov. 17 against Buffalo. They also were shut out in consecutive games for the first time in team history as they followed up a 13-0 loss to Cincinnati on Dec. 21.

Bruce Gradkowski, the fourth starting quarterback of a miserable season, did nothing against Pittsburgh's league-leading defense while going 5-of-16 for 18 yards, two interceptions and a 1.0 passer rating. The Browns' 26 yards passing tied for the second fewest in club history.

Hard to blame all that on Crennel, who didn't discuss his situation with his players after the game.

"The coach didn't throw interceptions, the coach didn't miss tackles," receiver Joshua Cribbs said. "So blaming the coach is just looking for a way out, for an excuse - `Oh, it must be coach's fault.' "

The Steelers' 12-4 record is more impressive given their strength of schedule; they played the Titans, Giants, Colts, Cowboys, Eagles, Ravens (twice), Patriots, Chargers and Redskins in their final 14 games.

"Every game has had a playoff atmosphere, every game was a big game," said Ward, who surpassed 1,000 yards receiving in a season for the fifth time. "We're going to take this bye week, enjoy it, and come back hungry for the playoffs."

The Browns won't come back until September, and they'll likely have a lot of new faces when they do.

"It's been a dismal season, it's been hard on everybody. So in one regard, it's nice to have this season over," receiver Braylon Edwards said. "It gives us a chance to think about next year - wherever, whoever, whatever the team looks like next year."

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