Browns vs. Steelers 2013, Week 17: Pittsburgh handles Cleveland, still alive for AFC Wild Card

Despite the disappointment of an 8-8 season, Steelers fans have plenty to be optimistic about moving forward, particularly the play of Ben Roethlisberger. Here’s Steelers blog Behind the Steel Curtain on the leadership the franchise quarterback showed through a gritty 2013:

In Cleveland, the loss was the last straw for Browns coach Rob Chudzinski, who was fired after just one season in Cleveland in a rather shocking move.

The Steelers held up their end of the bargain by dominating the Browns, 20-7, in an impressive defensive outing. Their aging defense stymied the Browns, who were held to their second-lowest point total of the season.

With the Ravens and Dolphins losing Sunday afternoon, the Steelers now just need the Chiefs to beat the Chargers in the late afternoon game.

Cotchery came up just short of his second touchdown of the game diving for a pass in the end zone. He landed awkwardly on his right shoulder and was taken off the field.

Here’s Steelers blog Behind the Steel Curtain lamenting his potential loss:

We could summarize the Cleveland Browns in two ways, each of which is equally useful.

1. There is talk about firing Rob Chudzinski, a rookie head coach, for going 4-11 -- maybe 4-12 -- in a year where his team’s quarterbacks were Jason Campbell, Brandon Weeden, and Brian Hoyer.

Antonio Brown has a special haircut today. Cool hair, Antonio! But, uh...what is that? It appears to be a humanoid form, possibly wearing a football helmet and pads, and gesturing. Some guesses from the SB Nation newsroom:

- One of the blocker lemmings from Lemmings.

• NFL Week 17 picks for every game | Watchability Index | Playoff picture

• NFL Power Rankings: 49ers, Seahawks steady at the top

Pittsburgh and Cleveland meet for the second time in 2013 to close out the regular season. It’s a game with playoff ramifications for the Steelers while the Browns hit the offseason running with the team trying to find its franchise quarterback.

What a difference a couple of months make. It wasn’t long ago that Ben Roesthlisberger was depicted as unhappy, head coach Mike Tomlin’s seat was getting warm and there were questions whether an aging team would rebuild in the offseason.

The Steelers are favored at home against the Brown by 7.5 points by CBS Sports. The eight panelists on the CBS Sports panel picked in favor of the Steelers with a vote of 5-3 when considering the spread. However, when picking straight up, the entire panel choose in favor of Pittsburgh in a clean sweep.

Showtime’s “Inside the NFL” three-man panel is split on the game. Cris Collinsworth and Phil Simms picked the Steelers, while former Pittsburgh running back Franco Harris surprisingly picked the Browns.

The over/under for the matchup is 44 points. The Steelers are 8-7 on the season when it comes to the over/under. The Browns have a similar 8-6-1 record with the total points. The Steelers score an average of 23.9 points per game, while allowing 24.2 points to opposing teams. Cleveland averages 20 points per game, but allows 25.7 points on defense.

The Browns are 6-9 against the spread, while the Steelers are 8-7 on the season.

The Browns are 4-11 and are 0-6 since their bye week. At this point, the Browns are strictly playing for pride, so going with a veteran over player with less experience seems to be slight toward Weeden. While the Browns have played poorly, Campbell has thrown for 1,775 yards, 10 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. He has a 77.8 passer rating.

• NFL Mock Draft: The silver lining to your team’s misery