Pittsburgh ? The Pittsburgh Steelers insist they’ll play Sunday’s game at Buffalo as if it is any other during their unexpectedly good season. If history is any indicator, doing so could be difficult.

With home-field advantage and a first-round playoffs bye secured, the Steelers (14-1) have little incentive other than extending a 13-game winning streak that is the longest in team history. They also can complete the first 15-1 season in team history.

Still, that’s probably not enough motivation for coach Bill Cowher to play injured quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (ribs) and running back Jerome Bettis (ankle), even though both might play if the game were more meaningful.

It’s also likely the Bills will see a lot more of players such as wide receiver Lee Mays, cornerbacks Ike Taylor and Richard Colclough, center Chukky Okobi, defensive end Brett Keisel and offensive tackle Max Starks. They rarely play with the regulars and, when they do, mostly fill situational roles.

“It’s still an important game for us — like I say every week, it’s the biggest game for us,” said Roethlisberger, who is 13-0 as a starter. “We still want to go out and win this game, no question about it. We’re going to do everything we can to win this game.”

Well, maybe not everything.

Wide receiver Hines Ward, for example, doesn’t expect to play the entire game, even though he almost certainly would if the Steelers had anything to gain.

“We can’t go out there and lay down. We are approaching the playoffs so, mentally, we have to come out and take the same approach we’ve been taking all year,” Ward said. “This is an important week, we can’t have any falloff knowing we’ve got the bye.”

The game is far more important to the Bills (9-6), who have won six in a row but must win to retain their playoff hopes. The Bills are loaded with former Steelers personnel, including general manager Tom Donahoe, coach Mike Mularkey and offensive coordinator Tom Clements.

Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger tosses a football during a workout. Roethlisberger, shown Thursday in Pittsburgh, likely won't play Sunday against Buffalo.

“They’re playing with a lot of confidence. And they’re on a roll, so teams that are peaking at the right time going into the playoffs are tough. So it would be nice to keep them out of the playoffs,” said quarterback Tommy Maddox, who will make his first start since Sept. 19.

The Falcons and Eagles talked similarly last week, only to fall flat in games that had little meaning. The Eagles treated their 20-7 loss to St. Louis on Monday night almost like an exhibition game, with quarterback Donovan McNabb playing only one series — not surprisingly, the only effective series they had.

The Steelers have played well in meaningless games during Cowher’s 13 seasons as coach, beating Cleveland, 28-7, to finish the 2001 regular season and nearly upsetting Green Bay to end the 1995 season.

“Everything we have to do is taken care of, as far as clinching and all that, but we can’t drop off in our approach to this game,” Ward said. “It’s hard to turn it off and turn it on.”