Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that Ben Roethlisberger will not play this weekend against the Browns, with Mason Rudolph getting his start in Cleveland instead.
Tomlin acknowledged that the Steelers (12-3), who have already secured a place in the playoffs and the AFC North title, may rest several starters on Sunday, but as of now, Roethlisberger is the only one he has named.
“It doesn’t change our intentions about going to Cleveland this weekend,” Tomlin said. “Football is our game. Our job is to win. We aim to do our job. We aim to prepare with this mentality. And, finally, to lead us to that destination. We are not looking for comfort.
“This game is scheduled and so the guys who will be on the field will represent us in the standard that is the Pittsburgh Steelers standard.”
Tomlin pointed out that while a few other players can rest before the playoffs, Sunday’s meeting with the Browns will not feature a team made up entirely of backup children, in part for health reasons. Instead, he said, they will probably operate in a rotation that limits the number of snaps of some starters, while providing healthy backup opportunities.
“This is not a pre-season game where we play backups, where we have 54 to 75 players to evaluate and things like that,” he said. “We only have one NFL football team. The NFL football team will play, minus Ben and maybe another guy or two. I don’t want to do more of that than what is from that perspective.”
Rudolph’s start comes a year after a fight affected the end of the Cleveland team’s game. Browns star Myles Garrett was suspended for snatching and tying Rudolph’s helmet, hitting the defender in the head with a few seconds left.
Since Garrett was suspended and Rudolph was rushed for last year’s rematch, Sunday will be the first time the two will play against each other since the incident.
“I haven’t had a chance to talk to him about it,” Tomlin said of Rudolph’s return to Cleveland. “But I’m sure he’s excited about getting a chance to start, for sure.”
Cleveland (10-5) can make the playoffs with a win on Sunday, but Tomlin said his team is not necessarily motivated by the possibility of keeping the Browns out of the postseason.
“Motivation and intentions and all that stuff, that’s good feed for water cooling and I understand it,” Tomlin said. “This is a scheduled game. Our business is to win. We will prepare with this mentality. This will be unchanged in the way we approach it. … I know what our mentality will be. I know what the intentions will be. “We’re going to play football.”