PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania – Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger doesn’t want his sprained left ankle to keep him out of Pittsburgh’s regular-season finale Sunday in Cleveland against the Browns.

“As long as I can deal with pain, I’ll be out there,” Roethlisberger said Thursday. “I don’t want to let the guys down, so I’ll do what I can to be out there.”

Roethlisberger, who sat out the Steelers’ 27-0 win last Sunday against the St. Louis Rams, fully participated in practice again Thursday. He said the ankle, sprained on Dec. 8 in Pittsburgh’s last meeting with the Browns, was “a little sore.”

Roethlisberger was injured against Cleveland when he was sacked in the second quarter by Browns defensive linemen Scott Paxson and Brian Schaefering. He returned to the game and then played all of Pittsburgh’s next game, a 20-3 loss to the 49ers in San Francisco on Dec. 19.

Offensive coordinator Bruce Arians said he was “much more” confident in Roethlisberger’s ability to play this Sunday against the Browns after watching the quarterback’s mobility improve in Thursday’s practice.

Roethlisberger will play if he’s healthy, Arians said.

“I want him out there but not at the risk of injuring himself,” Arians said. “If he can’t move around and get out of the way, there’s no sense in getting him out there.”

There’s plenty at stake against the Browns as the Steelers (11-4) remain in the hunt for the AFC North championship. To win it, they need a win vs. Cleveland and hope the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.

If Roethlisberger can’t play, 37-year-old Charlie Batch, who threw for 208 yards in the Steelers’ win over the Rams, is available.

Guard Doug Legursky (shoulder) and safety Troy Polamalu (knee) sat out for the second straight practice Thursday. Linebacker James Harrison, who sat out Wednesday’s practice with a neck injury, and receiver Mike Wallace (ankle), who was limited in practice Wednesday, participated fully Thursday.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a lot to play for in Week 17. They are currently 11-4 and tied with the Baltimore Ravens for first place in the AFC North. Baltimore owns the tiebreaker but faces a tough Week 17 test against the Cincinnati Bengals. Meanwhile, the Steelers have a trip to face the Cleveland Browns. If the Steelers win and the Ravens lose, Pittsburgh will win the division and earn a bye. That’s not out of the realm of possibility. Pittsburgh could get a big boost if quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is able to play.

Roethlisberger has been dealing with an injured ankle since the last time his team faced the Browns. That was all the way back on Thursday, December 8. Roethlisberger played in the following game against the San Francisco 49ers but was visibly limited. He sat out in Week 16 as his team drilled the lowly St. Louis Rams. Now, the hope is that his high ankle sprain is rested enough to allow him to play in the game. That could be a huge boost for a team hoping to win the division. Roethlisberger will be watched closely throughout the week but there is a real chance he can play. If that happens, beating the Browns should be no problem for the Steelers.

Roethlisberger has been pretty solid in the 2011 season. After a rough start he has bounced back to throw 21 touchdown passes and 14 interceptions. Big Ben has struggled against elite defenses but Cleveland doesn’t really fit that bill. The Browns are in the midst of a disastrous 2011 season and would have a hard time winning this game no matter who was under center for the Steelers.

Pittsburgh might ultimately decide to rest Roethlisberger another week if he is still hobbled. Their playoff spot is secure and Pittsburgh has been able to win on the road in the playoffs before. If it is in the best interest of the team to not risk Roethlisberger’s health, they won’t do it. Pittsburgh knows it is good enough to be successful in the playoffs on the road as well as at home. If Big Ben can play, he will. But if he is still sore, I expect the Steelers will rest him.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

By Evan Dunlap

– Newsdesk contributor

Follow , and

Like SB Nation Pittsburgh on Facebook.

Dec 27, 2011 – The Pittsburgh Steelers blanked the St. Louis Rams, 27-0, in Week 16 to run their record to 11-4. But beating the 2-13 Rams wasn’t enough to improve the Steelers’ place in the SB Nation NFL power rankings, as Pittsburgh remains at No. 6.

The five teams ahead of the Steelers are, in order, the Green Bay Packers (14-1), New Orleans Saints (12-3), San Francisco 49ers (12-3), New England Patriots (12-3), and Baltimore Ravens (11-4).

“Pittsburgh is in this place every year — one of the top handful of teams in the league,” writes Joel Thorman. “I’m just hoping for a playoff rematch with the Ravens.”

The Steelers have a chance to overtake Baltimore in the AFC North if they defeat the Cleveland Browns and the Ravens lose their game against the Cincinnati Bengals. If the teams finish with identical records, Baltimore wins the division, and thus earns a first-round playoff bye, by virtue of its 2-0 record against the Steelers this season.

As it happens, the Rams’ loss to Pittsburgh dipped St. Louis to No. 32 in the SB Nation rankings this week, which moved the Indianapolis Colts (2-13) out of the cellar.

For more on the Steelers, please visit Behind the Steel Curtain, SB Nation’s Steelers blog.

Read More: Pittsburgh Steelers

Follow , and

Like SB Nation Pittsburgh on Facebook.

Do you like this story?

Read More: Charlie Batch (QB – PIT), Ben Roethlisberger (QB – PIT), Frank Gore (RB – SFX), Tavares Gooden (LB – SFX), Aldon Smith (LB – SFX), Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers

It’s no secret that the San Francisco 49ers are in a tough spot right now. Well, as tough a spot as you can be in with ten wins and a division title. They’re sitting at 10-3 and looking to pick up a big win on Monday Night Football over the Pittsburgh Steelers, a team that is among the AFC’s best. The 49ers are also coming off a very bad loss this past week to the Arizona Cardinals, a game in which they should have won, by all accounts.

There is a lot they need to work on. The offensive line will need to up its game and the coaching staff needs to call a much better game offensively. Running back Frank Gore can’t carry the ball only ten times when he has over 70 yards with those ten carries. The coaching staff can’t call pass plays on 3^rd and 1 and 4^th and 1 at the end of the game, when the passing game hadn’t picked up and Alex Smith was being sacked.

But on Monday, they could have one less extremely important thing to worry about: Ben Roethlisberger. He’s got a high ankle sprain, though it’s only a minor one. Still, that sprain has been acting up lately and it’s going to be tough for Roethlisberger to return. With the extra rest, it would be no surprise to see him play on Monday, but it doesn’t appear to be healing on schedule, certainly a good thing for San Francisco.

Roethlisberger has been one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks this season. Sam Lam of Examiner.com recently had some questions for 49ers linebacker Tavares Gooden, who is very familiar with the Steelers from his time with the Baltimore Ravens, AFC North rivals. Gooden noted one specific thing about how the Steelers have been so good this year:

He just extends the play. The guys that are coming after him, he’s able to avoid them. That’s the part of their livelihood, that’s how they eat on offense. They’re just making great plays. … They just find ways to win games and I think it’s all based on Big Ben’s ability to get free on third and long down situations and he makes a lot of plays with his feet.

It’s definitely apt. Roethlisberger’s greatest asset has always been his ability to extend the plays. If he’s not playing, that makes defending the Pittsburgh offense a whole lot easier, and Charlie Batch certainly lacks that ability. Not to mention that, if Roethlisberger were to play, he might be pretty limited in his mobility – perhaps a giant target for 49ers rookie linebacker Aldon Smith?

Regardless of whether or not Roethlisberger plays, the ankle injury should help them on Monday night. Now about that Pittsburgh defense …