Cleveland – Aaron Rodgers doesn’t plan on changing his sleep schedule Saturday night, even though his Pittsburgh Steelers could wrap up a division title without playing.

If the Green Bay Packers – Rodgers’ former team – beat the Baltimore Ravens, the Steelers (9-6) would secure their first AFC North title since 2020, making Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns (3-12) essentially meaningless.

Rodgers said he won’t change his approach, even if the Steelers have a playoff spot wrapped up before kickoff.

“I’m preparing to play and excited about playing,” he said.

Pittsburgh, which has won three straight to wrap up its 19th straight winning season, is likely to finish as the AFC’s fourth seed. The Steelers would need to beat Cleveland and Baltimore next week along with Jacksonville and Houston losing out to have a chance of improving their position.

If Pittsburgh wins the AFC North, it would be Rodgers’ ninth division title as a starting quarterback. That would tie him with Joe Montana for third most. Tom Brady leads with 19 and Peyton Manning had 12.

One thing the Browns have to play for is Myles Garrett’s pursuit of the single-season NFL sack record. Garrett has 22 and needs one to surpass Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt’s mark of 22 1/2.

Watt, the Steelers’ star pass rusher, will miss a third straight game as he recovers from surgery to repair a partially collapsed lung.

Garrett has faced Rodgers twice and has not sacked him. Breaking the record and making Rodgers the 52nd player Garrett has sacked would be special for the All-Pro pass rusher.

“He’s legendary himself and it’s a legendary record. I’m here to chase him. That would be a great one to put a picture on the wall with,” Garrett said. “He’s going to make it difficult, but I feel like I am very capable of fighting through everything and have some teammates who can free me up.”

Rodgers has been pressured on a league-low 21.9% of his dropbacks. He has the league’s quickest release, averaging just 2.63 seconds to throw.

“You’re not going to fool a player of that caliber who has seen so much defense,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said. “You feel at times watching the tape that he’s one step ahead of the defense. He’s able to see things so quickly.”

Steelers missing suspended Metcalf

The Steelers will be without top wide receiver DK Metcalf, who has been suspended for Pittsburgh’s final two games following an altercation with a fan at Detroit last week.

Metcalf will finish the season with a career-low 850 yards receiving, and his 59 catches are his fewest since his rookie year with Seattle in 2019. But his presence on the field creates opportunities for teammates.

Now those teammates, including recently signed veterans Adam Thielen and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, will have a chance to prove Pittsburgh’s passing attack is more than a one-man show. It helps that Rodgers spreads the ball around. Eleven Steelers have touchdown catches this season, tied for most in the league.

“I think there’s a lot of guys on this offense that can make plays,” Thielen said. “Whether it’s the tight end room, I think there’s a lot of versatility there. Running back room … and then in the receiver room, just a lot of guys that can do a lot of different things.”

More injury woes for Browns

Cleveland rookie QB Shedeur Sanders was already going into the game short-handed after running back Quinshon Judkins suffering a season-ending leg injury last week against Buffalo. Now, he might be without his leading receiver.

Tight end Harold Fannin suffered a groin injury during Friday’s practice. Fannin had touchdowns rushing and receiving last week. He leads NFL rookies in catches (70), is tied for third in touchdown receptions (five) and is fourth in receiving yards (701).

Stefanski said Fannin is likely to be a game-time decision.

Dillon Gabriel suffered a shoulder injury on Friday, meaning Bailey Zappe could be called up from the practice squad to back up Sanders.

Steelers’ Warren, Gainwell support each other

Pittsburgh’s running back tandem of Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell has become one of the best duos in the league, combining for 15 touchdowns and more than 2,000 yards from scrimmage.

While the Steelers gave Warren a modest contract extension just before the start of the season, there really is no definitive first-string running back, which is just the way offensive coordinator Arthur Smith likes it.

“There’s a lot of trust in those players,” Smith said.

Warren and Gainwell – who signed a one-year deal last spring after spending four seasons in Philadelphia – are quick to celebrate each other’s accomplishments, and their team-first attitude has permeated an offense that might be the most democratic in the league. Eight players have at least 150 yards from scrimmage for Pittsburgh this season.

Packers’ Love to miss Saturday’s game

Green Bay, Wis. – Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love won’t play Saturday night against the Baltimore Ravens a week after leaving a game with a concussion.

The Packers announced Friday that Love had been ruled out for Saturday’s game. Love had been listed as questionable Thursday on an injury report that referenced his concussion as well as an issue with his left shoulder.

This will be the first full game that Love has missed this season.

Love’s situation means both starting quarterbacks may miss the game on Saturday night. The Ravens have listed two-time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson as doubtful because of the back injury that knocked him out of a 28-24 loss to the New England Patriots last week.

Tyler Huntley, who took over for Jackson in the Patriots game, likely would start in Jackson’s place if needed. Green Bay’s backup quarterback is Malik Willis, who is questionable for Saturday’s game.

Love suffered the concussion when he absorbed a helmet-to-helmet hit from Chicago’s Austin Booker in the second quarter a 22-16 overtime loss to the Bears last week. Willis took over from there and hurt his right (throwing) shoulder while getting sacked on the final play of the fourth quarter, though he remained in the game for overtime.

Love had been a limited practice participant this week. Willis also practiced on a limited basis Tuesday and Thursday, though he didn’t practice Wednesday because of an illness. Willis started two games in place of an injured Love last season, and the Packers won both of them.

Green Bay’s only other quarterback is Clayton Tune, who was signed to the practice squad in late August. Tune has appeared in 13 games but has made just one career start, with the Arizona Cardinals in 2023.

The Packers (9-5-1) clinched a playoff spot Thursday when the Detroit Lions lost 23-10 at Minnesota, but they still have incentive to keep winning to try improving their seeding. They can win the NFC North if they win their last two games and Chicago drops its final two games.

Baltimore (7-8) can make the playoffs only if it wins Saturday, the Pittsburgh Steelers lose at Cleveland on Sunday and the Ravens win at Pittsburgh in Week 18.

With top draft pick in play, Raiders bench Crosby

Henderson, Nev. – The Las Vegas Raiders have decided to bench defensive end Maxx Crosby (Eastern Michigan) for Sunday’s home game against the New York Giants in a matchup of teams with the NFL’s worst records.

The loser has the inside track to the top overall draft pick, and the Raiders will be resting other key players this week.

Tight end Brock Bowers (knee) and safety Jeremy Chinn (back) were placed on season-ending injured reserve on Wednesday. Bowers is a two-time Pro Bowler who earned first-team All-Pro honors last season.

Crosby has a knee injury that has led to him missing numerous practices this season, but he has started every game. Crosby left the team facility after the Raiders informed him of the decision.

“After an evaluation we did Monday or Tuesday, it just looks too bad,” coach Pete Carroll said Friday. “He didn’t want to take the news like that and I didn’t want to take the news like that, so we worked our way through to get to this point. He’s been practicing on Fridays. If we had let him, he would’ve gone out there and he would not have hesitated, but he knows that he’s banged up.”

Carroll said he expected Crosby’s negative reaction to the decision.

“He’s been fighting his (butt) off the whole time,” Carroll said. “He’s as good a competitor as you can be. You can’t battle more than he’s battled. He’d do anything to be able to be playing.”

Carroll said he didn’t know if Crosby would return next week for the season finale against Kansas City, but acknowledged it was possible that Crosby would also miss that game.

The Raiders and Giants each head into their meeting with 2-13 records. Las Vegas could use the top pick on a quarterback, such as Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza, in hopes of addressing a longtime need for an organization that has gone more than two decades without a playoff victory.

Crosby is one of the league’s top pass rushers. He has 10 sacks and a career-high 28 tackles for loss this season. Crosby has recorded double-digit sacks three of the past four seasons.

Crosby made clear earlier this week that winning was more important than getting the top draft selection.

“I don’t give a (expletive) about the pick,” Crosby said at the time. “I don’t play for that. That’s not my job. My job is to be the best defensive end in the world, and that’s what I focus on every day and being a great leader and being an influence and on being that guy on a consistent basis for my team. The front office, the coaches, they do that.”

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