On Sunday, in Week 17 of a wild season, with little to play for and the future in mind, an NFL team from Pennsylvania sat its quarterback.
Its opponent on the day, an oft-dysfunctional division rival, needed a win to make the playoffs. Others around the league, with postseason ambitions themselves, hoped the Pennsylvanians would triumph.
But coaches and management didn’t care. In the fourth quarter, down one score, they leaned on their backup QB. He came up short. And the opponent clinched a playoff berth.
That Pennsylvania team, of course, was the Pittsburgh Steelers.