There were a number of surprising elements to Sunday’s Steelers-Browns game, not the least of which is that it didn’t matter.
The Steelers beat the Browns 24-10 to finish 8-8 on the season, but were eliminated from playoff contention before the game even started.
The shocker of the day was the way they iced it, with Plaxico Burress catching a touchdown pass for the final margin. Burress had caught just one pass in the three previous games he had been with the Steelers.
Ben Roethlisberger threw for 134 yards and three touchdowns, but it was an otherwise unremarkable day for the Steelers, who will be answering questions about their offense all offseason.
For the Browns, the loss drops them to 5-11 and signals the end of the Pat Shurmur era, another foregone conclusion entering the day.