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There’s no immediate prize or short-term gain for the Cleveland Browns this week, which is why coach Kevin Stefanski plans to sit as many players as he can for Sunday’s regular-season finale in Cincinnati. Jeff Driskel, who wasn’t even on the team when the Browns practiced for the Week 17 playoff-clinching game, will start at quarterback.

Even Stefanski doesn’t know the exact number of players he will be forced to use, which is part of the reason he’s not sharing a list of who will play Sunday. If Stefanski could have his team back on the bus to the airport by 4:30 p.m. ET, he’d consider that a successful day.

The Browns know they’ll play at the AFC South champion in the wild-card round on either Jan. 13, 14 or 15. They’ll play at Jacksonville, Indianapolis or Houston — they’ve already beaten all three teams — and they know all of them have to win this weekend as they’re chasing playoff qualification. If the Jaguars win Sunday in Tennessee, they win the division. If the Jaguars lose, the Browns will play at the winner of Saturday night’s Texans–Colts game.

In case the wild-card game is next Saturday, the Browns are going to be as fresh and ready as possible for a full week of preparation. They’re coming off an extended weekend thanks to their Week 17 Thursday game, but their bye week was back in early October. When Stefanski said the Browns “have earned” the right to rest some regulars, that pretty much said it all about why he’s sitting as many starters as possible this week.

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