The Browns have been so bad this year that fans in Cleveland are actually planning a parade to "celebrate" in case the team goes 0-16. Unfortunately for those fans, though, it's starting to look like the parade might not happen, because the Steelers are going spoil it.
The only way the parade won't happen is if the Browns win this week and believe it or not, their chances are actually starting to look more promising because it appears that the Steelers might be benching several key starters on Sunday.
According to Steelers right tackle Marcus Gilbert, the team's plan is to bench Ben Roethlisberger and Le'Veon Bell. The Steelers also won't have Antonio Brown because he's out with a calf injury. Gilbert seemed to accidentally leak the news on Thursday when he was asked how this week's game compares to the first time the Steelers played the Browns back in Week 1.
"We'll have Landry Jones in there," Gilbert said, via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "We won't have Ben or [Brown] or Le'Veon Bell."
Although Gilbert was more than willing to divulge the Steelers' personnel plans for this week's game, no one else in the team's locker room was willing to confirm (or deny) his information.
A follow up to the Gilbert quote: I did ask Landry Jones if he was going to play. He just said it was a coach's decision. Ridley declined comment to go to a meeting. And Haley made it sound like it was still an open ended decision.
— Tim Benz (@TimBenzPGH) December 28, 2017
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin was asked on Tuesday if he would be benching his starters and at that point, he was still unsure about what he might do.
"I'm undecided as I stand here right now," Tomlin said, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "Like I mentioned, it's obvious that those discussions, or those type of discussions, are in play. We'll do what's best for us short term and long and we won't look back."
Tomlin also added that no matter who plays, he expects the Steelers to win.
"We will play and play to win that football game," Tomlin said. "Who we choose to employ or utilize or activate, we're in the process of discussing. But make no mistake about it, the expectation will be what it is. The people we put on the field, we'll expect them to play and play winning football."
If the Steelers do rest their starters, it's kind of an odd decision for two reasons. First, they actually still have a shot at the top seed in the AFC. If the Patriots lose to the Jets and the Steelers were to win, then Pittsburgh would get homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. Although a Jets upset seems unlikely, they have given the Patriots fits over the past four years. In nine meetings since 2013, eight of them have been decided by seven points or less, with the Jets winning two.
If the Jets were to pull off the upset and then the Steelers lost to the Browns, it would be a gaffe of epic proportions. The other reason it's odd to rest your starters is because this is a monumental game for the Browns. If the Steelers lose on Sunday and don't go on to win the Super Bowl, this season will always be remembered as the one where they they were the one win in the Browns' 1-15 record.
That being said, after watching Brown get injured in Week 15, it's easy to see why Tomlin doesn't want to risk playing his starters, even if it makes some sense to play them.
