CLEVELAND —  Browns linebacker Scott Fujita, a member of the Saints from 2006-2009, faces possible disciplinary action from the NFL in connection with the New Orleans bounty probe, ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported.

 Fujita, a member of the NFL Players Association, has been an outspoken advocate for players’ health and safety, especially as it relates to concussions.

 Fujita suffered a concussion in the Oakland game last season and sat out the following week. Later in the season, after quarterback Colt McCoy was sent back into the Steelers game with a concussion, Fujita called for independent neurologists to be on the sidelines of every NFL game.

 Fujita played for the Saints and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams in 2009, the first year of Williams’ alleged three-year bounty system in New Orleans which paid defenders for big plays, including knocking players out of games.

 Fujita, who’s wife gave birth to their third daughter last week, has not yet returned two emails seeking comment.

Browns safety Usama Young, who played for the Saints from 2007-2010, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

 Williams, now the defensive coordinator of the Rams, is meeting with NFL security officials today about the alleged violations, a source told Mortensen.

 The Washinton Post reported that Williams ran a similar bounty system when he was with the Washington Redskins, according to five former players and a coach.
 Williams apologized for his actions in a statement released last week.

 ”It was a terrible mistake, and we knew it was wrong while we were doing it,” Williams said. “Instead of getting caught up in it, I should have stopped it. I take full responsibility for my role. I am truly sorry.”

Mortensen’s initial tweet regarding Fujita said he was “getting dragged into bounty probe, per sources.”

Cold. Windy. Miserable. That about sums up my experience at the Cleveland Browns game on Sunday, January 1. In addition to a good dose of Cleveland winter, the Browns unfortunately fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers by the score of 13-9.

Coming into the game I honesty was not expecting much. A win against the Steelers would be a fantastic way to end a mildly disappointing season while a loss would guarantee a better draft pick. (Am I really justifying a loss here?)

I was looking for a competitive football game, and based upon the final score it would appear the win could have gone either way. When taking a look at the final stats, the Steelers played poorly but the Browns were simply awful.

Quarterback Seneca Wallace completed just 16 of 41 attempts for a total of 177 yards on the day. He threw no touchdowns and was picked off once.

On the other hand, Joshua Cribbs had a career game netting seven receptions for 91 yards. Unfortunately, that was the lone bright spot for the Browns. For one of the only players that is passionate and wants to be on the field as much as possible, embraces and interacts with the fans, and genuinely loves Cleveland, he deserved all of his success in the game. I just wish it were enough to contribute to a win. One guy cannot do it all.

Peyton Hillis, who may have played his last game in Cleveland, carried the ball 10 times for 30 yards.

For the Steelers, Ben Roethlisberger was only marginally better than Wallace going 23 for 40 for 221 yards. His decision to play with a lingering sprained ankle did not make much sense, especially with the playoffs right around the corner.

Isaac Redman racked up 92 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown. As the only touchdown of the game, it broke up the field goal battle between Phil Dawson and Shaun Suisham.

Dawson was 3-3 on the day hitting from 26 yards, 45 yards, and 49 yards on the day. Suisham was 1-1 in extra points and 3-2 in field goals hitting from 19 yards and 29 yards.

When all was said and done, the Browns fell yet again and finished the season with a 4-12 record. But in true Cleveland style—Just wait until next year!

More Cleveland Browns Commentary from this Contributor:

The Cleveland Browns’ experience: A fan’s take

Cleveland Browns lose to Cardinals in OT, QB debate begins: A fan’s reaction

The benefits of being a die-hard Cleveland Browns fan this season: A fan’s perspective

Cleveland Browns prepare for tough game against Baltimore Ravens: A fan’s view

Cleveland Browns release Pro Bowl veteran Pontbriand in favor of rookie Yount: A fan’s reaction

Sources:

All data provided by NFL.com

Paul Rados is an avid Cleveland Browns fan and a Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter @PSRados or leave him a message on Facebook. For a complete look at his freelance work please visit his Blog.

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

The
Pittsburgh Steelers
had no problems getting by without
Ben Roethlisberger
in their latest game, but the franchise quarterback says he plans to play in the team’s potentially significant regular-season
finale in Cleveland.

The progress of a game on the opposite end of Ohio may determine how much.

A first-round bye is in sight for the Steelers with a victory over the Browns on Sunday and some help, but otherwise they’d
likely need to win three times on the road to make a return trip to the Super Bowl.

After suffering a high ankle sprain in a 14-3 win over Cleveland in Week 14, Roethlisberger played through pain in a 20-3
loss at San Francisco 11 days later, throwing three interceptions as Pittsburgh blew a chance to stay in the driver’s seat
for the AFC’s top seed.

Needing two wins and a Baltimore loss to win the AFC North and guarantee at least a first-round bye, the Steelers (11-4) rested
Roethlisberger in favor of
Charlie Batch
last weekend against St. Louis. Batch threw for 208 yards while Pittsburgh rode a 116-yard rushing performance from
Rashard Mendenhall
and a dominant defensive effort to a 27-0 win.

Baltimore held off a late rally by the Browns to win 20-14 that same day, but the division’s current leader – by virtue of
a head-to-head sweep of the Steelers – hardly has it easy in Week 17. The Ravens travel to Cincinnati, where a win would put
the Bengals in the playoffs as the AFC’s No. 6 seed and third qualifier from the North.

A Baltimore loss and Pittsburgh win would give the Steelers the No. 2 seed, and potentially No. 1 should New England falter.
But anything else leaves Pittsburgh as the AFC’s fifth seed with no week off, almost certainly requiring the defending conference
champions to win three road games to reach a fourth Super Bowl in seven years.

It was unclear early in the week if the Steelers would risk Roethlisberger for what amounts to a 50-50 shot at best at a bye,
but Thursday the recently named Pro Bowl passer said he’d give it a go.

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

Coach Mike Tomlin’s offensive coordinator agrees – to a point.

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

While the Steelers need help from the Bengals – offensive lineman
Trai Essex
said he “might peek a couple of times” at the scoreboard – they’re focused on the Browns (4-11), especially considering they
didn’t put the Dec. 8 meeting away until a 79-yard Roethlisberger-to-
Antonio Brown
touchdown with 2:52 left.

“Cleveland’s going to do whatever they can to put a damper on our season as much as possible,” Essex told the Steelers’ official
website. “They’re not having the year I’m sure they wanted to, but whenever we play against each other it doesn’t matter what
our record is, we’re going to get their best and they’re going to get ours.”

Roethlisberger isn’t the only quarterback to have sustained a potentially significant injury in the first meeting. Browns
quarterback
Colt McCoy
took a helmet-to-helmet shot from Steelers linebacker
James Harrison
late in the fourth quarter, a hit that drew Harrison a one-game suspension and opened the door to Cleveland’s coaching staff
receiving plenty of criticism.

McCoy returned to the game, but was later diagnosed with a concussion. The decision to send him back in led to the NFL instituting
a policy that requires teams to have a certified athletic trainer in the press box help medical staffs evaluate injured players.

One of the harshest critics of the Browns’ handling of the situation was none other than Harrison, who said last week that
Cleveland should be disciplined since he was docked one game.

As for his play, Harrison claims he’s lowered his target area. Browns linebacker D’Qwell Jackson isn’t so sure.

“Harrison is who he is and whether you fine him, you suspend him, he’s not going to change,” Jackson said.

McCoy, who missed the past two games, has not been medically cleared and is unlikely to return for the finale.
Seneca Wallace
figures to get the call again after throwing for 373 yards, two TDs and an interception in losses to the Cardinals and Ravens.

“We have to try to take advantage of every opportunity and make sure we do it at 100 percent,” Wallace said. “Do it at a high
level and minimize mistakes. Against teams in this division, we can’t give them easy ones.”

As long as Roethlisberger’s been in Pittsburgh, matchups with Cleveland have typically been just that. The Steelers are 13-1
against the Browns with Roethlisberger starting, and he’s thrown seven touchdown passes without a pick in his last four visits
to Cleveland.

“You never want to lose to Cleveland,” Steelers safety
Ryan Clark
said. “When you are in this city, when you play for this organization, that’s a game you don’t want to lose.”

Read More: Troy Polamalu (SS – PIT), Seneca Wallace (QB – CLE), Phil Dawson (K – CLE), Isaac Redman (RB – PIT), Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns

The Pittsburgh Steelers scored 13-straght points and maintain a 13-9 lead over the Cleveland Browns heading into the fourth quarter.

Pittsburgh opened the half taking the ball down to the the Cleveland 11-yard line before having to settle for a Sean Suisham field goal and then finally cracked the end zone for the first time when Isaac Redman ran the ball seven yards for six. The play capped a seven-play drive as the Steelers took advantage of good field position after Troy Polamalu intercepted a Seneca Wallace pass.

Seneca Wallace bounced back and moved the Browns into the red zone on their next drive by throwing to Josh Cribbs and then running the ball himself for 20 yards. But after taking a sack on third and long, the Browns settled for a 49-yard field goal by Phil Dawson.

Redman has handled the running back duties admirably for the Steelers, putting up 70 yards on 17 carries. Wallace leads the Browns with 44 yards rushing but has completed just 7 of 20 passes for 102 yards.

For more on the Cleveland Browns, go to Dawgs by Nature. You can also head over to SB Nation’s main NFL hub at SBNation.com/NFL.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The only big name on the inactive lists of the Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers is LaMarr Woodley.

Woodley has battled hamstring problems of late. He didn’t play in the first meeting Dec. 8 in Pittsburgh. Jason Worilds will start for Woodley. Headhunter James Harrison mans the other starting linebacker spot.

The Browns inactives are: Receiver Jordan Norwood, quarterback Colt McCoy, receiver Rod Windsor, defensive back James Dockery, center Steve Vallos, defensive tackle Kiante Tripp and right tackle Tony Pashos.

Artis Hicks will start for Pashos. Oniel Cousins may also play.

Other Steelers inactives: Running back Mewelde Moore, linebacker Chris Carter, center Doug Legursky, defensive end Al Woods, offensive tackle Jamon Meredith and receiver Arnaz Battle.

Coordinator news: ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported the Browns indeed will hire an offensive coordinator in 2012. It’s a story Cleveland-area media reported months ago when Browns President Mike Hollmgren first said a coordinator was in the offing for next season.

Mortensen speculated on ex-Andy Reid assistant coach and Minnesota head coach Brad Childress as a leading candidate. Childress’ name has been circulated in previous local reports, along with that of Mike Sherman, former Holmgren aide in Green Bay.

Childress and Sherman are represented by Bob LaMonte, who controls the Browns’ executive front. LaMonte is a long-time friend and business associate of Holmgren, and also represents General Manager Tom Heckert and coach Pat Shurmur.

One longshot candidate who is outside the LaMonte inner circle is Karl Dorrell, who is part of the lame-duck coaching staff of the Miami Dolphins.

Peyton Hillis finally played like a pro against the Baltimore Ravens on 12/24/11. Throughout the past two Cleveland Browns’ games Hillis has gone for 211 yards and has carried the ball 50 times. This is rather spectacular given what little he has done throughout the rest of the season. He is starting to look like the Hillis that Browns’ fans have been excited to see, but just haven’t had the chance to.

As the Browns go into the last week of the regular season – and their last game – they could use Hillis playing at this level.

While Hillis is now playing well, it is still hard to forget about his never ending stream of injuries and his bad attitude. For a while at the beginning of the season, it really seemed like he simply just did not want to wear a Browns’ uniform and was – to put it simply – being a baby about it. Has he truly had a change of heart, or is he just trying to finish the season strong so that he can be picked up by another team?

Many people believe that the Browns should fight to keep Hillis. I will be the first to admit that when Hillis is playing at his best that he is a true asset to the team. However, how do we know that he will play the full season next year? Will Hillis have a world of excuses to stay off of the field next year like he did this year? These are worrisome questions.

“At the beginning of the year, it was tough because I was injured,” Hillis said following the Ravens’ game. “I was trying to go out there and play 100 percent, and it was tough, because you really can’t help your team. You have a lot of people doubting you or thinking that you’re not trying to play hard. I love this team, and I love going out there and playing football. I’ve been doing this since I was five. I don’t like people questioning that, because my heart is big, and I want to do great things for this team.”

Personally, I think that Hillis should be given at least one more full season with the Browns. He is talented when he is giving it his all. Then, if he has another season where he seems like he just does not want to be in Cleveland, the Browns can do what they need to do to replace him. If he has a great season, then this is great for him and the Browns as a whole.

He played the last two games with the passion of a true Brown. Let’s just hope he keeps it up and that the Browns can beat the Steelers with Hillis’ renewed sense of dedication.

R. Elizabeth C. Kitchen is a lifelong Browns fan who grew up in a household of Browns’ fans. She was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio and still lives there. Regardless of the trials and tribulations the Browns have been through, she remains loyal, albeit honest about her home team. Follow Rose on Twitter @Rose_Kitchen

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

BEREA, Ohio — Colt McCoy is making progress from his concussion and still has a chance to start Sunday. But will the Browns start their second-year QB against James Harrison and the Steelers’ No. 1-ranked defense?

McCoy, who sat out games in Arizona and Baltimore, hasn’t yet been cleared to practice, but coach Pat Shurmur said Monday that if he’s able to practice on Wednesday “there’s a chance he can play.” But Shurmur was still unwilling to commit to McCoy, even if he gets the green light from the medical staff.

“I can’t cross that bridge yet,” said Shurmur. “We’ll know more Wednesday when we start practicing for the Steelers and then we’ll talk about it then. And I’m not trying to be vague. That’s the case.”

McCoy felt better last week, but not enough to make the trip to Baltimore. He did some physical activity, including using the elliptical machine, but apparently still had symptoms that prevented him from team practices.

Shurmur said McCoy has increased his activity this week, but wasn’t specific. The Browns are off on Tuesday and begin full preparation for the Steelers on Wednesday.

“Colt worked out [Monday] and was in all of the meetings,” said Shurmur. “He’s making improvement.”

If McCoy is cleared to start, will the Browns throw him back in there? Here are a number of things to consider:

1. He’d be going up against Harrison, whose helmet-to-helmet blow on Dec. 8 gave him the concussion.

2. Harrison was suspended a game for the hit, which cost him about $73,000. He spoke out last week, saying the Browns should’ve been fined for putting McCoy back in the game with a concussion. He’s probably not going to be in the holiday spirit this game.

3. Should the Browns risk McCoy so soon after the concussion — especially with the NFLPA still trying to decide whether or not to file a grievance against the Browns? A source said the union should make its decision the first week of January.

4. With nothing at stake for the Browns, should they just let McCoy rest and also avoid the second-guessing it will invite if he plays?

5. The Browns have said they’ve seen enough of McCoy to make a decision on whether or not he can be their quarterback of the future. If that’s the case, why play him?

6. Will one more game with Seneca Wallace help the Browns determine if the offensive woes this season can be attributed to a lack of playmakers and not so much the quarterback?

7. Has Wallace moved the offense well enough the past two games to earn him another start? He’s 0-2 in his two starts with an average of 12 points a game.

Wallace reiterated Monday what he said after the 20-17 overtime loss in Arizona on Dec. 18: the job should be McCoy’s if he’s healthy.

“Like I said before, I would’ve loved to have been able to try to help this team out longer … but coaches made the decision at the beginning of the season to have Colt as the starter,” said Wallace. “If he’s healthy enough, I feel like he should come back and finish the season like he did.

“If I was the leader of this team at the beginning of the season and got knocked out and had a chance to come back and play, I’d want to finish the season out.”

How much would Wallace like to bounce back from the Ravens loss?

“I’m excited regardless,” he said. “I don’t care who it is, if it’s Pittsburgh or the St. Louis Rams. You’re playing football. We can go out and compete another time. That’s the opportunity we love to go out and play football.”

Wallace is coming off a 20-14 loss to the Ravens in which the offense scored just seven points. He completed 19 of 33 attempts for 147 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He made two crucial mistakes: an interception on the opening drive and letting the first-half clock run out deep in Ravens territory without getting at least a field-goal attempt.

As for the interception, Shurmur said, “there was a little bit of heat inside. Seneca flushed to his right. We have to make sure we’re smart with the football. I have to do a better job of getting protection where he doesn’t get heat up the middle. I’ll take responsibility for that. But we can’t turn the ball over there.”

Shurmur said he needs to do a better job of communicating to Wallace to get the ball spiked at the end of the half. But Wallace took responsibility.

“It’s not all [Shurmur's] fault,” he said. “If you’re a man, you’ve got to take responsibility for what you do on the field. … He’s going to try to back us because he’s the head coach. But at the end of the day, we get on the field and we’re playing between those lines, we’ve got to take responsibility for what we do out there.

“So yeah, it was a communication error, but at the same time, it’s not 100 percent his fault.”

What injury? Browns linebacker Kaluka Maiava suffered a broken left hand on the opening kickoff of the second half in Baltimore. But he’ll play with a cast Sunday. He said he broke a little piece of his index finger and that it won’t require surgery.

It won’t be the first time he’s dealt with this kind of injury.

“I told the doctor I think I’ve been playing with a cast on my hand since my junior year in high school,” he said. “Every year I had something on my hand.”

Extra points: Shurmur said he’ll ask the NFL for clarification on why Evan Moore wasn’t ruled out of bounds on the second-to-last play of the first half. Moore was told he needed to take a step forward out of bounds. Shurmur seems to think he was out. … Pro Bowl teams will be announced Tuesday, and Shurmur said several Browns are deserving. He declined to say who. … Remember, the Steelers game has been moved from 1 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. Sunday as a result of flex scheduling.

On Twitter: @marykaycabot

Colt McCoy will not play in the game against the Arizona Cardinals as he continues to recover from the concussion he sustained in the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Owen Marecic – a Cleveland Browns’ fullback – will also not take part in the Cardinals’ game due to a concussion.

Seneca Wallace will quarterback in McCoy’s place. He made two plays in the Steelers’ game after McCoy sustained the hit that was responsible for his current concussion.

Eddie Williams will take Marecic’s place at fullback for the Cardinals’ game. He was signed off the Browns’ practice squad.

“I saw [McCoy] this morning,” Browns’ coach Pat Shurmur said. “He’s still having some symptoms [including headaches], and that’s why we sent him home. I wouldn’t know exactly how to characterize it, but we’ll talk about him, obviously, next week when we get back.”

It is critical that McCoy take off the necessary time to fully recover. First and foremost, if he was to get a second concussion prior to a full recovery from this one, the consequences could be very serious for him. Second, if he is unable to play at 100 percent, he is not helping himself or his team, and he is putting himself at risk for further injury. Being a dedicated athlete, it is hard to sit on the sidelines, but right now, this is the best thing he can do for himself, his health and his team.

The Arizona game will mark Wallace’s 19^th pro start. The nine-year veteran, made four starts last season and went 1-3.

“I’m anticipating that Seneca’s going to go out and execute efficiently and I think we saw Colt do that at times this year,” said coach Shurmur.

This will certainly be an interesting game. Hopefully the rest of the team will play well and remain healthy, and those who are injured will quickly recover and be ready to tackle the Ravens and Steelers in the final two weeks of the season.

R. Elizabeth C. Kitchen is a lifelong Browns fan who grew up in a household of Browns’ fans. She was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio and still lives there. Regardless of the trials and tribulations the Browns have been through, she remains loyal, albeit honest about her home team. Follow Rose on Twitter @Rose_Kitchen

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

APPat Shurmur

The Cleveland Browns visit the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, and coach Pat Shurmur tells an Arizona newspaper how the Cardinals look similar to the Steelers “schematically,” which is a good thing for the Cardinals.

“If you’re going to have a defense that you want to be similar to, it’s hard to beat that,” he said.

Defensive coordinator Ray Horton came to Arizona this year after spending seven seasons as the Steelers’ secondary coach, so the similarity with the Steelers’ scheme is not coincidence.

Preparing for Sunday’s game is a bit easier, Shurmur said, having just played the Steelers, writes Kent Somers of TucsonCitizen.com.

“But you have some different pieces in place,” he said. “How they play coverage is a little bit different.”

More Cleveland Browns

Colt McCoy has a poor QBR rating in the red zone (ESPN).

Heckert knows the Browns need playmakers (Ohio.com).

Peyton Hillis’ future remains up in the air (CantonRep.com).

Dear Mike Holmgren: (Cleveland.com).

Romeo Crennel is the favorite to take over in KC (arrowheadpride.com).

Arizona Cardinals using past experiences to help with Kevin Kolb (azcentral.com).

Mike Holmgren and the Browns won’t be different until they win (dawgpounddaily.com).

Beanie Wells praises the Browns (WFNY.com).

Cleveland, Ohio – Welcome to today’s edition of Starting Blocks TV, hosted by Chuck Yarborough and Bill Lubinger.

Today’s special guest on SBTV is Doug Dieken, the former Browns offensive lineman who is now the team’s color analyst on the radio.

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison was suspended for one game for his concussion-causing hit on Colt McCoy during the Browns’ 14-3 loss last week. Harrison has knocked three Browns out of games with concussions over the last two seasons.

Chuck and Bill asked Doug if he thinks Harrison and the Steelers have bullied the Browns in the last three games of the series.

Doug also talks about whether the Browns need to send an on-field message to Harrison; and how retaliating against opponents has changed since the days Dieken played.

Which team do you think will win Sunday’s Browns-Cardinals game in Arizona, and by how many points? That’s the question in today’s Starting Blocks poll.

SBTV will return Friday with Plain Dealer Browns reporter Tony Grossi answering fan questions from his weekly Hey, Tony! feature.

BEREA, Ohio — “You play to win the game,” an old coach named Herman Edwards once said.

He meant when the ESPN oompah band isn’t around and when the playoffs are unlikely. Edwards’ observation is the heart of the NFL’s “on any given Sunday” (or Thursday) mantra.

That might be a difficult sell to anyone who saw Thursday night’s Browns loss at Pittsburgh, however.

The Browns seemed to have knocked Ben Roethlisberger out of the game late in the first half in Pittsburgh. But he came back, like the trouble that has persistently found him off the field.

If the Browns are ever good again, if this game were in the playoffs or for a playoff berth, it would be remembered for Roethlisberger’s emergence as the next Willie Mays, John Elway, or Michael Jordan. They were great players who broke the hearts of valiant Cleveland teams. The NFL Network’s Brad Nessler and Mike Mayock were practically playing a fife and drum in tribute to Big Ben.

The Browns’ Colt McCoy was courageous, too. The Browns trailed, 7-3, in the fourth quarter when McCoy was blasted backward and left limp on the grass by another of James Harrison’s killer shots to the head on Browns players. In the past two years, he has put Mohamed Massaquoi, Josh Cribbs and McCoy out of games, although the latter only briefly.

But McCoy had also run out of the pocket on the play. He was a ballcarrier then, a threat to run before flipping a short pass to Montario Hardesty. Harrison’s helmet-to-helmet shot was obviously a penalty, but there is also the question of what he was supposed to do? Back off? Brake his momentum on a potential stop against a player who had scrambled to the lip of the goal-line earlier in the game?

After the game, coach Pat Shurmur said McCoy began exhibiting symptoms of a concussion. McCoy’s father and his former high school coach, Brad McCoy, criticized the Browns’ medical staff and coaches Friday for putting his son back in the game. Shurmur said if Colt McCoy hadn’t been cleared to play, he never would have been sent back in. Frankly, this will do McCoy no favors in the Browns’ organization.

Backup quarterback Seneca Wallace entered the game upon McCoy’s departure. His second play was a pretty 13-yard pass to Evan Moore that carried to the Steelers’ 5. It might have been the best pass of the day by a Browns quarterback. Even McCoy’s first-drive completions, on the intermediate routes he usually spurns, necessitated twisting, turning, leaping catches by his receivers.

Now, one pass does not a season or even a comeback make. But Wallace to Moore looked like Steve Young to Jerry Rice, compared with what occurred when McCoy returned to the game on first-and-goal at the 5.

Maybe McCoy wanted back in because of his competitiveness. Pittsburgh had put Big Ben with his bad ankle back in, after all. Maybe McCoy also knows his future with the Browns is on the line in the last weeks of the season. Maybe the Browns also wanted to check under heat the Petri dish McCoy has become to see if anything but mediocrity buds were growing there.

Shurmur said, after the quarterback passed a quick series of sideline tests designed to detect a concussion, McCoy told him, “I’m ready to roll.”

Two other Browns suffered concussions in the Pittsburgh game — Owen Marecic and Ben Watson. Neither returned. That can be read as proof of the Browns’ caution, or of McCoy’s ability to convince those who wanted to believe him.

Wallace is a better scrambler than McCoy, he had been spared the beating McCoy had taken and he was fresher. These points became issues because McCoy looked anything but ready to roll.

On first down, Harrison, in hot pursuit again, swatted at McCoy’s heels, tripping him up and leading to an obvious intentional-grounding call after McCoy’s underhanded pass was aimed at no one in particular.

From the 16 on third down after the penalty, McCoy stood in the pocket, with the play well-blocked, and threw late and short to Mohamed Massaquoi in the corner of the end zone. Shurmur said Massaquoi had to play better defense and try to knock down the ball on the throw. In any event, Pittsburgh’s William Gay plucked it like a peeled grape. Gone was the last chance for Cleveland.

Said Shurmur, when asked if McCoy was the best chance to win, “There is no doubt in my mind. That doesn’t mean I don’t have confidence in Seneca.”

Experts in medical ethics can debate McCoy’s fitness to play after he was leveled. Shurmur can try to have it both ways with his quarterbacks.

Strategically, in their equivalent to the Ohio State-Michigan game, when a victory would have made a miserable season less so, when their starter had just been savagely belted out of the game, Seneca Wallace gave the Browns the best chance to win.

Read More: Jerricho Cotchery (WR – PIT), Ben Roethlisberger (QB – PIT), Peyton Hillis (RB – CLE), Evan Moore (TE – CLE), Colt McCoy (QB – CLE), Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers, Dec 8, 2011 7:20 PM CST

Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy was impressive on the team’s opening possession against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but the Browns were forced to settle for a field goal after an apparent touchdown run by McCoy was overturned on review.

McCoy was 4-4 for 69 yards to start the game, including long completions to tight end Evan Moore and Josh Cribbs.  It was a 3rd and goal from inside the one after the reversal, however, that left a sour taste in the Browns mouth.  McCoy handed off to running back Peyton Hillis but had no shot as the entire left side of the Browns offensive line was pushed 3 yards into the backfield.

After holding the Browns to a field goal, the Steelers wen on an impressive drive of their own, going 73 yards in five plays before Ben Roethlisberger hit Jerricho Cotchery on an 11-yard touchdown pass.  Like McCoy, Roethlisberger was perfect on his first drive, going 3-3 for 45 yards.