PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and safety Troy Polamalu each attended a full practice Friday and are listed as probable for the regular-season finale in Cleveland on Sunday.

Roethlisberger practiced all week after missing last Saturday’s 27-0 win over the St. Louis Rams because of a high ankle sprain. The injury occurred three weeks ago in a home win against the Browns, but he played the following Monday in San Francisco and threw three interceptions in a 20-3 loss.

Polamalu (knee) did not practice until Friday but is expected to start Sunday. Center Maurkice Pouncey missed the past two games with a high ankle sprain but said he’s going to play.

Linebacker James Harrison (neck) and wide receivers Mike Wallace (ankle) and Emmanuel Sanders (foot) are listed as probable.

LaMarr Woodley (hamstring) is doubtful after not practicing Friday, and Jason Worilds likely will make his seventh start at outside linebacker.

The playoff-bound Steelers need a win and a Baltimore loss at Cincinnati to win the AFC North and earn a first-round bye.

Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is saying that he is optimistic that Ben Roethlisberger will be able to start against the Cleveland Browns for the final week of the season. That noise you hear now is every Steelers fan letting out a resounding “why?”

It was debatable whether Roethlisberger should play against the San Francisco 49ers two weeks ago but after the Ravens lost it made sense. After Roethlisberger looked terrible, looked injured and the 49ers defense destroyed him it made less sense to start him last week. Now after the Steelers won without Roethlisberger last week it seems to make no sense for Roethlisberger to start this week.

The Steelers have a chance to win the AFC North, which means a first round bye in the playoffs and the Steelers could even slip into the first seed overall and get home field throughout the playoffs. Obviously everybody would prefer to get the first round bye but not if it means risking Roethlisberger’s health and costing the Steelers a trip to the Super Bowl. The Steelers can go to the Super Bowl if they are the five seed. They can’t go to the Super Bowl if Roethlisberger is injured.

Benching Roethlisberger doesn’t guarantee that the Steelers give up the division either. Last week the Steelers not only won without Roethlisberger but they won by a score of 27-0. They did it the way that Pittsburgh traditionally wins, running and defense. Sure, their opponent was the St. Louis Rams who are currently in the running for the Andrew Luck sweepstakes. The Cleveland Browns aren’t exactly Super Bowl contenders either though.

The Browns are playing without their starting quarterback Colt McCoy-who has been out since suffering a concussion after a hit from James Harrison in the two teams’ last meeting-and their offense only ranks 29^th in the league. The Steelers’ defense also seems to step up when Roethlisberger doesn’t play. Last week the defense shut out the Rams and last season when Roethlisberger missed four games the defense only allowed 12.5 points per game against four teams that had a combined record of 41-23 by the end of the season.

The offense won’t be completely the same if Roethlisberger doesn’t play but it won’t be bad either. Cleveland’s defense ranks 10^th in the NFL but that is largely because of a pass defense that ranks 2^nd in the NFL. Cleveland’s rush defense is actually only 30^th in the NFL and not far off from the Rams defense that the Steelers ran all over last week.

The Steelers can beat the Browns even if Roethlisberger doesn’t play and then their fate lies in the hands of the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals game. The Bengals game will be much tougher for the Ravens. Besides the fact that the Ravens choke in big situations, you also have a Bengals team that will be pumped to hold on to their playoff spot. If the Bengals win they clinch only their third playoff spot in 20 years. The game is also in Cincinnati where the stadium has sold out for only the second time this year.

The Steelers should rest Roethlisberger one more week and it’s possible Pittsburgh still gets the first round bye. Even if the Ravens win and the Steelers are the fifth seed every Steelers fan has faith that Roethlisberger can navigate the Steelers through the playoffs one more time. Nobody has faith that Charlie Batch can do it if Roethlisberger plays and makes his ankle worse.

Sources:

Tomlin optimistic Roethlisberger could start at Cleveland, Chicago Tribune

The last several generations of Lee Andrew Henderson’s family were Pittsburgh born and even though he was born in Alabama he has been a long time fan of the Pirates, Steelers and Panthers. Lee Andrew Henderson can be found on Twitter at @LeeAHenderson

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“People were telling me later they could hear it through their TV,” Batch said. “I was like, ‘really, OK, pretty good.’”

Actually, better than that.

Batch was his usual efficient, reliable self against the Rams, passing for 208 yards and showing there’s plenty of life left in his 37-year-old legs, extending several plays that turned into big gains as the Steelers (11-4) kept their hopes of an AFC North title alive.

The Pittsburgh native improved to 5-2 while subbing for starter Ben Roethlisberger through the years, earning praise from coach Mike Tomlin and turning Roethlisberger into one of the world’s tallest — and most handsomely paid — cheerleaders.

When the fans started chanting Batch’s name, Roethlisberger joined in. It’s the least he could do for one of his closest friends.

“For an old man … making people miss in the pocket and doing some great things, I was really happy for him and happy for the team,” said Roethlisberger, who dressed but did not play so he could rest his badly sprained left ankle. “He did a great job.”

So good the Steelers might let Roethlisberger watch from the sideline again on Sunday when they close the regular season against woeful Cleveland (4-11). Pittsburgh can still win the AFC North with a victory and a loss by the Ravens in Cincinnati.

Though Batch is openly rooting for Roethlisberger to start, and while Roethlisberger took snaps with the first team in practice on Wednesday, the veteran’s steady performance against the Rams calmed any doubts he can keep the Steelers competitive.

“Charlie likes to chuck it,” wide receiver Antonio Brown said. “You know he wants to get it out of there and let us go to work.”

The same as it ever was for Batch, who spent the spring helping the NFL Players Association negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement then spent training camp wondering if he’d have a job when the season started.

Batch and Dennis Dixon battled for the third quarterback spot behind Roethlisberger and Byron Leftwich during the preseason only to move up the depth chart after Leftwich went out with a broken right arm in an exhibition game.

It wasn’t the way Batch envisioned keeping a roster spot. Then again, he’s been around so long — Batch is the oldest player on a team full of guys on the other side of 30 — he’s no longer concerned about how he makes the team so long as he does.

By Batch’s count, this summer was the third — or is it fourth? — time his career was supposed to be over. Yet he remains employed and effective.

The player who deftly avoided blitzing linebackers and methodically moved the Steelers up and down the field looked an awful lot like the one considered a solid starter while playing with the Detroit Lions around the turn of the millennium.

Given the way backups Charlie Batch and Trai Essex handled themselves in a 27-0 win over St. Louis last Saturday, the Steelers (11-4) may not need Roethlisberger or Pouncey to hurry back from their badly sprained left ankles to keep the team’s hopes of an AFC North title alive.

Batch played effectively against the Rams, passing for 208 yards while showing there’s still some life in his 37-year-old legs. He extended plays with his mobility and even threw the ball downfield, hitting Mike Wallace for a 46-yard gain in the fourth quarter that set up the clinching touchdown.

“I thought he did some really good things,” Tomlin said of Batch. “(But) his performance has no bearing on how we go about making the decisions that are right for us this week. A lot of the decisions center around Roethlisberger’s health. But I like the way Batch played, not only the way he performed but the way he led and communicated.”

It’s what Batch has done with consistency while subbing for Roethlisberger through the years. The Pittsburgh native is 5-2 when starting in relief and had the Heinz Field crowd chanting “Charlie! Charlie!” after a handful of plays.

The moment wasn’t lost on Batch.

“I think that they have appreciated what I have done, and what I am doing to help this team win,” he said. “I embraced it.”

And he’ll embrace trying to do it on the road against the Browns (4-11) if necessary.

Pittsburgh can win the division with a victory in Cleveland and a loss by Baltimore in Cincinnati. It can even gain the top overall seed in the AFC with a win and losses by both the Ravens and Patriots.

It’s why Tomlin isn’t quite ready to rule out Roethlisberger. The coach isn’t sure if Roethlisberger will be able to practice this week, but even if the quarterback doesn’t, Tomlin expects to wait until the last minute before making a decision.

“There are some scenarios that can unfold, where we can improve our playoff position,” Tomlin said. “We are aware of that. We are also aware that all of those scenarios include us winning this football game. We are going to do what we deem necessary for us to put ourselves in position to do that.”

And even Batch understands that when relatively healthy few quarterbacks can do what Roethlisberger can do.

“This is Ben’s team,” Batch said. “This team moves with him and to see him do everything in his power to get back on the field is really something special to watch.”

Pouncey sat out the last two games and backup Doug Legursky went out early against the Rams with a left shoulder injury. Enter Essex, who hadn’t taken a snap at center all season. He performed admirably, helping the Steelers gash St. Louis for 169 yards on the ground.

“It was under unusual circumstances,” Tomlin said. “To have a guy come in and deliver the way he delivered for us, not only in terms of snapping the football but declaring fronts and blocking people in the run game, it was just a special afternoon for him.”

Legursky is out for Sunday, and if Pouncey can’t play Essex will get the call again, though Tomlin sounded optimistic Pouncey will be ready.

Linebacker LaMarr Woodley (strained left hamstring), and wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders (right foot) could also play in Cleveland.

Tomlin will not rest players just to rest them, but could modify the amount of playing time depending on how things shake out elsewhere, particularly if Baltimore gets up big on Cincinnati and the Steelers know they’ll have to start the playoffs on the road the weekend of Jan. 7-8.

“Those are the easy decisions I can make as the game and situations unfold,” Tomlin said. “Some of them are obvious. … That’s not rocket science as far as we’re concerned.”

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