Oct 5, 2009 3 min read

PITTSBURGH – Ya think Rasheed Mendenhall got the message? Mendenhall, virtually benched a week earlier by coach Mike Tomlin, ran for 165 yards and two touchdowns.

Then, they played the second half.

The Steelers were clicking on all cylinders in Sunday night’s 38-28 win over the San Diego Chargers, but Mendenhall was front and center.

The second-year running back was benched for scrimmage plays by his coach a week earlier in Cincinnati for what Tomlin referred to as a failure to pay attention to detail in his preparation.

He got a reprieve Sunday when starter Willie Parker was unable to play due to a turf toe injury. To say Mendenhall made the most of his chance would qualify as the understatement of the young season.

He went over 100 yards early in the third quarter and, just like his teammates on both sides of the ball, did not lift a toe off the accelerator regardless of the score.

Once Ben Roethlisberger hit Heath Miller for the quarterback’s second touchdown pass of the game to lift the Steelers to a 28-0 lead, it was apparent to anyone in Heinz Field or in front of a television that there was nothing wrong with the defending Super Bowl champs.

To that point, roughly midway through the third quarter, the Steelers had amassed 355 yards of offense, while the defense had limited the Chargers to 96.

It appeared as though the Steelers were intent on making the Chargers pay the price for Pittsburgh’s two-game losing streak.

The Chargers eventually scored by putting together a 79-yard drive, but all that proved is how hard it is to post a shutout in today’s NFL. San Diego’s offense has weapons, too.

Sitting on a 28-7 lead early in the fourth quarter and the Chargers finally showing signs of life, the Steelers defense got off the field quickly with a nine-yard sack by Aaron Smith and a pair of incomplete passes.

A fluky special teams play put the Chargers in the end zone again and it was up to the Steelers offense, now nursing a 28-14 lead, to show what it could do in a critical situation.

To whom did the offense turn? Mendenhall, who caught a 6-yard check-down and was stoned on a second-and-4 carry before busting off a 32-yard run to put the Steelers in range for a Jeff Reed field goal.

Ironically, it was the offense’s effectiveness early in the game at keeping Reed off the field that led the luxury of turning to their kicker in the fourth quarter to wrap it up.

But the offense wasn’t done there, either. An 18-yard pass to Hines Ward made it first-and-goal and Mewelde Moore threw a halfback-option pass to Heath Miller for the true clincher, with Reed safely on the sideline.

Not done either, as it turned out, was the San Diego offense, which scored 14 points in 2:47 to make it 35-21 with just over four minutes remaining.

This one, it seemed, would come down to the Steelers offense having to produce again.

And again, it turned to Mendenhall, who ran for 27 yards on two carries to put the Steelers on the brink of Reed’s range. When Reed nailed a 46-yarder, it sealed the win + and Mendenhall’s triumphant return.

Sports editor Mike Ciarochi may be reached at mciarochi@heraldstandard.com.