(Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)
Mike Tomlin announced on Tuesday during his weekly press conference that Ben Roethlisberger won't play on Sunday against the Cleveland Browns and Mason Rudolph will get the start at quarterback.
The Steelers will be either the No. 2 or No. 3 seed in the playoffs and with only the first seed getting a bye week under the new playoff format, there's really nothing to play for on Sunday against Cleveland. Tomlin only ruled out Roethlisberger for this week, but he said they'll look potentially at resting some other players.
On Monday, oddsmakers had the Steelers as 7-point underdogs against the Browns. With it being announced that Rudolph will get the start on Sunday, the line has now moved to Cleveland being 10-point favorites, according to Oddsshark.com. The over/under for the game is 42.5 points.
According to CBS Sports, the Browns haven't been favorited by seven points or more against the Steelers since 1989. In Week 6 of the 1989 season, the Browns were a 10-point favorite over the Steelers in a game they would lose 17-7. The Browns blew out the Steelers 51-0 at Three Rivers Stadium in Week 1 that season.
The Browns are 3-7 against the spread in their last 10 games and the Steelers are 7-0 against the spread in their last seven games in the early afternoon, per Oddsshark.com. The Browns are 9-3 straight up in their last 12 games at home. With a win over the Steelers, the Browns will clinch a playoff berth for the first time since 2002.
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