The Steelers had already clinched a playoff slot, so Sunday’s regular-season finale against Cleveland may have seemed meaningless.

Despite the 13-9 final score, it was anything but. Not only was there the chance to win the AFC North title and a first-round bye, but several players also had the opportunity to set milestones during the game.

Antonio Brown, the Steelers MVP, had 90 yards receiving and reached 1,100 yards to join Mike Wallace, making them the third Steeler tandem to accomplish the feat. Hines Ward and Plaxico Burress did it in 2002, while Ward did it again in 2009 with Santonio Holmes.

Then there was quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who topped 4,000 yards passing. It was the second time in his career he had done so, and the win was the 80th of his career in just his 113th start. He joined elite company, including Tom Brady, Ken Stabler and Roger Staubach.

Tight end Heath Miller also reached a pinnacle, tying Hall of Famer Lynn Swann in career receptions for fourth place in Steeler history.

But if you ask any player on the team, including those three, their achievements paled in comparison to the one they wanted for Ward.

Ward already has played in four Pro Bowls and three Super Bowls, and has an MVP award from Super Bowl XL to his name. He owns 13 team receiving records. But with five catches, giving him 1,000 for his career, Ward would pretty much claim his ticket to Canton.

“All week I was just trying to say, ‘Man, I just want to win.’ Because we still have a chance (to win) the AFC North and get that bye week,” Ward said. “I think winning meant more to me than anything, but in the back of my mind I thought, ‘Man, it would be great to get 1,000 catches.’ “

Ward admitted he was nervous as that thought and the game drew closer.

On the first offensive play of the fourth quarter, Ward took a shovel pass from Roethlisberger. Although it went for negative yardage, it was the 1,000th of his career.

“My 1,000th catch, my whole career here, this is amazing,” Ward said. “Coming to the NFL, I was just proud to be in the NFL. My goal wasn’t to catch a thousand balls or anything. But through hard work and perseverance and being able to stay healthy … here I am. It’s an elite club to be in.”

Hall of Famer Jerry Rice is the only other player to have both 1,000 receptions and multiple Super Bowl rings, and just eight other players have reached 1,000 catches.

“We’ve been counting down since week one for him to do it, and it took till Week 17 in the fourth quarter,” safety Troy Polamalu said. “But he got it and deserves it. He’s been in a run-first offense for so long. I don’t know who else is on that list, but it would be interesting to see because being in Pittsburgh and putting up the numbers he did in a run-first offense for maybe 10 of his first 14 years, he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.”

The words throughout the locker room echoed Polamalu.

“Man, he is one of the greatest ever in my book,” defensive lineman Brett Keisel said. “He has the same kind of story that I do and that is why I respect him so much. He played special teams, worked his way into the receiver role, and now 1,000 receptions, that is amazing. He is one of the all-time greats. There is no doubt he’ll be in the Hall of Fame. It’s been a honor to play with him.”

“I can’t say enough about Hines,” tackle Max Starks said. “I’ve been his teammate for eight years now, and he’s amazing, the things he can do. I’m very glad he hit that milestone and he is very deserving of it.”

“He’s a great player, a Hall of Famer, a role model,” Wallace said. “He’s like a big brother to me. He doesn’t say much, he just comes ready to play. It was on the top of our list to get Hines his catches and I’m glad we did.”

The question now: is this the curtain call for an athlete who has played the game with the tenacity of a throwback player? Although his contract runs through 2012, Ward wasn’t ready to talk about that. Instead he was focused on the playoffs and helping Pittsburgh to another Super Bowl appearance.

“I just want to thank all the guys. I think they were my biggest fans,” Ward said. “To catch a 1,000 balls is big, considering playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers you have to worry about the weather conditions. I’m just focused on doing what I can do to help this team and the younger guys make the playoffs.”

The Pittsburgh Steelers will play the Denver Broncos in the wildcard round on Sunday, January 8. Unfortunately for them, they will be down one of their biggest offensive weapons. No, I’m not talking about Ben Roethlisberger. The quarterback is expected to be fine for the game. Instead, Pittsburgh will have to win without their top running back. The Steelers have placed Rashard Mendenhall on the injured reserve list as a result of a torn ACL. Without him, the Steelers will need other backs to step up and run the football if they want to advance past the Broncos.

Mendenhall suffered the torn ACL in the regular season finale against the Cleveland Browns. Mendenhall had just eight carries at the time he suffered the injury. The diagnosis was later confirmed by the Steelers and the move to place him on the IR list was done swiftly. Mendenhall will have surgery later in January and need at least several months to recover from the ACL injury. However, there is still reason to believe he will make a full recovery. ACL injuries can vary in how long they take to heal but the hope is that Mendenhall will be able to play in the 2012 season opener. With the time of the injury, that will be a question mark. But he will see the field in 2012.

Without Mendenhall, the Steelers are down their top rusher. He leads the team with 928 yards on the ground and nine touchdowns. His 228 carries are more than twice the total of any other running back on the team. Isaac Redman figures to take the bulk of the carries against Denver. He ran the ball 19 times against the Browns in the regular season finale and has 479 rushing yards on the season. The performance of Redman will be key for the Steelers, especially given the sore ankle for Roethlisberger. But he has proven himself to be a capable backup and should perform well in this game. But even if that happens, the Steelers will still miss the big play potential of their top back. More than ever, the Steelers will have to rely on their stellar defense.

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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.

“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.