At 4-11 entering the final week of the season, the Cleveland Browns don't have much else to play for other than pride. Their Week 17 opponent, however, has plenty to play for -- the Pittsburgh Steelers can clinch the AFC North, a first round bye, and home field throughout the playoffs with a win and help. The Browns can play spoiler to those dreams on Sunday while also avenging their Week 14 14-3 loss.
The Browns will have to do it without their starting quarterback, though, as Colt McCoy is not expected to play. McCoy is recovering from a concussion he suffered in that Week 14 game against the Steelers, which got James Harrison suspended.
The Steelers saw their number one signal caller, Ben Roethlisberger, go down with an injury in that game, too, but he is expected to start on Sunday. After missing last week's game with the high ankle sprain, Roethlisberger returned to practice on Wednesday and was a full participant during Thursday's.
The Browns are expected to rely heavily on the running game without their best passer. Over the last two games, Peyton Hillis ran for 99 and 112 yards, respectively. The Browns will need another big game out of their Madden cover star, who has struggled and missed time this season with injuries and an illness, if they want to prevent a divisional foe from taking advantage of them for playoff positioning. A win in the season finale could be good momentum going into next year for the Browns, too.