"Browns highlights against the Pittsburgh Steelers have been scarce in the Ben Roethlisberger era. One of them was produced Dec. 8 by Scott Paxson.

Scott Paxson?

Yes, he was the guy who toppled the towering Pittsburgh quarterback with a low hit while Brian Schaefering hit him high. As Roethlisberger crumpled to the ground, the two backup defensive tackles fell on him.

"They hit him from opposite sides," Browns defensive coordinator Dick Jauron said. "One of them was going down, and he just got twisted underneath them. It was really remarkable that [Roethlisberger] came back."

Roethlisberger was taken inside for X-rays. After halftime, he limped back to the Steelers' bench, hobbled by what later was diagnosed as a Grade I high ankle sprain. He heroically completed that 14-3 victory against the Browns with a bunch of short passes, one of which Antonio Brown turned into a long touchdown.

Roethlisberger hasn't shaken off the injury. After a painful performance in a loss in San Francisco and then a week off, he expects to play Sunday in the season finale at Cleveland Browns Stadium.

"I hope there's much more to come [from me]," Paxson said of his impact on the Steelers' season. "I hope that's just the start."

Paxson doesn't hate the Steelers like the typical Browns fan, though he has good reason to.

As a high school star in Philadelphia, Paxson was recruited by most of the college football powers in the East. Western Pennsylvania wasn't on his radar. "