Rashard Mendenhall

PITTSBURGH - The Super Bowl-winning Steelers’ season was starting to unravel with consecutive losses in the final 15 seconds to the Bears and the Bengals. Determined to make sure their bad start didn’t last a moment more, they needed less than 15 minutes to effectively put away one of the AFC’s best teams. The Steelers (2-2) opened a 28-point lead behind Rashard Mendenhall (165 yards rushing, two TDs) and Ben Roethlisberger (333 yards passing, two TDs) and shut down the Chargers’ ground game like no team has since 1992 during a 38-28 victory Sunday night.

Steelers running backs coach Kirby Wilson was hospitalized on Friday after being severely burned during an early morning fire at his home in a Pittsburgh suburb. Authorities say the fire broke out around 3 a.m. in the kitchen of Wilson's home in Seven Fields, about 30 minutes north of the city. Flames were visible to firefighters when they arrived on the scene, according to Cranberry Township director of Public Safety Jeffrey Schueler. The 50-year-old Wilson, in his fifth season with the Steelers, was taken to a hospital before being airlifted to UPMC Mercy Hospital for treatment.

Steelers rookie tackle Marcus Gilbert will miss Sunday's game against the Jacksonville Jaguars (1-4), meaning Pittsburgh (3-2) will start its sixth different combination of offensive linemen in six games. Former starting left tackle Jonathan Scott will start in Gilbert's place on the right side. Gilbert injured his right shoulder three weeks ago in a win at Indianapolis and aggravated the injury last week against Tennessee. Scott — since replaced at left tackle when Max Starks was signed last week — came in for Gilbert at right tackle.

Three teams in the AFC North are prepping for the playoffs. The Cleveland Browns aren't one of them. Not this season. Not again. Not even close. Unable to capitalize on two Pittsburgh's fumbles in the second half, the Browns were beaten 13-9 on Sunday by the Steelers, who defeated Cleveland for the 16th time in 17 games and will limp into the postseason. Isaac Redman replaced injured starting running back Rashard Mendenhall and scored a touchdown, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger made enough big plays on his sprained ankle and Pittsburgh survived a last-play heave into...

Pittsburgh defensive end Aaron Smith and running back Rashard Mendenhall have left the Steelers' game against Houston with injuries, joining injured linebacker James Harrison. Smith injured his foot and was carted from the sideline to the locker room. Mendenhall scored on a 3-yard run in the third quarter. He didn't appear to be injured on the play, but was replaced by Isaac Redman on the next series. The team says Smith's return is doubtful and Mendenhall's is questionable.

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall will start on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars after missing a game due to a hamstring injury. Mendenhall, who had 1,273 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns for the AFC champions last season, was a full participant in practice for Pittsburgh Wednesday and Thursday. When asked if Isaac Redman would make his second consecutive start, offensive coordinator Bruce Arians replied, "Rashard's the man. He's ready to go. " Redman had 49 rushing yards in his first NFL start against Tennessee — a 38-17 win — and Jonathan...

PITTSBURGH - Ben Roethlisberger’s throwing got Pittsburgh going on its first two drives, Rashard Mendenhall surpassed his previous career total with 165 yards rushing and two scores, and the Steelers opened a 28-point lead, then held on to beat the San Diego Chargers, 38-28, last night. The Chargers, outgained nearly 4 to 1 until late in the third quarter, made an apparent blowout close as Philip Rivers threw touchdown passes of 30 yards to Antonio Gates and 13 yards to Chris Chambers, and Jacob Hester scored on a 41-yard fumble return, all in the fourth quarter.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Bills receiver Stevie Johnson was inconsolable for letting a victory slip through his hands. The Pittsburgh Steelers weren’t going to let Buffalo get a second chance. With his head down at the end of the bench, Johnson couldn’t watch as Shaun Suisham hit a 41-yard field goal with 2:14 left in overtime to secure the Steelers’ 19-16 victory yesterday. It was a dramatic turn of events for the Bills and Johnson, in particular, after he could’ve ended the game in Buffalo’s favor on the previous possession but dropped...

PITTSBURGH - The Pittsburgh Steelers spent 30 minutes yesterday reminding the seemingly overmatched Jacksonville Jaguars why they're the defending AFC champions. Then they spent 30 minutes reminding the rest of the NFL why they're so vulnerable. Pittsburgh narrowly avoided a stunning collapse in a 17-13 victory, a second straight win that hardly felt like one. "We didn't play the style of football that we like to play in the second half," coach Mike Tomlin said. The Steelers (4-2)

CINCINNATI — At the end of a night full of foibles, tricks, and missed opportunities, the Pittsburgh Steelers turned to their one constant to finish it off. That unyielding defense came through again. James Harrison and Ryan Clark stripped the ball away from Jordan Shipley near the 5-yard line on Cincinnati’s final play, preserving a 27-21 victory over the Bengals last night that left the AFC North with a familiar, old look. The Steelers (6-2) are again at the top, sharing the top spot with Baltimore.

They're bruised, limping and not close to being healthy. The Pittsburgh Steelers aren't themselves. But they are going to the playoffs. At this point, that's all that matters. Isaac Redman replaced injured starting running back Rashard Mendenhall and scored a touchdown, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger made enough big plays on his sprained ankle and Pittsburgh hobbled into the postseason with a wind-whipped 13-9 win Sunday over Cleveland, the Steelers' 16th victory in 17 games against the Browns.

Rashard Mendenhall leaned on his crutches and bowed his head. The pain wasn't unbearable for Pittsburgh's leading rusher. However, the thought of missing the AFC playoffs might have been too much to handle. Mendenhall injured his right knee in the first quarter Sunday and had to watch the Steelers stumble their way to a 13-9 win over the Cleveland Browns, who kept it close but again couldn't come up with the big play to pull off the upset. Isaac Redman replaced Mendenhall and scored a touchdown, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger made enough big plays...

It will take one more week to settle the AFC North title. Baltimore and Pittsburgh both won yesterday to stay tied for first place at 11-4, though the Ravens' sweep of the season series puts them in the driver's seat. A win at Cincinnati next Sunday would give Baltimore the division, a first-round bye, and a home playoff game - two if the Patriots lose to Buffalo. The Steelers can win the AFC North with a win over Cleveland and a Ravens loss. The Ravens completed their first unbeaten season at home, defeating Cleveland, 20-14, behind two touchdown passes from...

Steven Jackson's legs keep on churning. And the St. Louis Rams keep on losing. The veteran running back — the struggling franchise's lone offensive weapon throughout much of his career — ran for 103 yards in Saturday's 27-0 loss to Pittsburgh to go over 1,000 on the season for the seventh straight year. It's a remarkable feat, the silver lining in a miserable season. St. Louis (2-13) lost its sixth straight while getting shut out for the second time in 20 days even with Jackson doing everything in his power to keep the Rams competitive.

Charlie Batch doesn't know how many more games are left in his 37-year-old legs. Given the way the veteran quarterback played in the Steelers' ridiculously easy 27-0 victory over lifeless St. Louis on Saturday, it may be more than he thinks. The crowd chanting the name of Pittsburgh's native son throughout, Batch played efficiently if not spectacularly while subbing for an injured Ben Roethlisberger, passing for 208 yards to help the Steelers keep their hopes for an AFC North title very much alive.

Ben Roethlisberger sat stoically at his locker in a cramped Candlestick Park locker room, hands on his cheeks, watching a team trainer wrap ice around his injured left ankle. "I want you guys to know he didn't play with any needles," one trainer said. It will be difficult for Roethlisberger and the Steelers to take the sting off this loss. Roethlisberger threw three interceptions with a sprained left ankle, and the Pittsburgh Steelers missed a chance to take over the AFC's top spot in a 20-3 loss against the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night in...

HOUSTON - Andre Johnson turned upfield, fell awkwardly forward, and clutched the back of his right leg. In past seasons, an injury to their All-Pro receiver would've doomed the Houston Texans. That was before they had Arian Foster. Foster rushed for 155 yards and scored the go-ahead touchdown after Johnson left with a hamstring injury, leading the Texans to a 17-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers yesterday. "I go into every contest thinking that I'm the go-to guy," Foster said.

DENVER - Rarely has playing it safe paid off so well for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Tyrone Carter started in place of safety Ryan Clark as a precaution last night and made the big play that sparked the Steelers to their fifth straight win, taking the first of his two interceptions 48 yards for a touchdown in Pittsburgh’s 28-10 triumph over the Denver Broncos. Clark nearly died following a game in Denver two years ago because of a rare blood disorder that is aggravated by playing in high altitude, so Steelers coach Mike Tomlin decided to hold him out of the...

Jerricho Cotchery watched Ben Roethlisberger limp into the locker room in the middle of the second quarter on Thursday night against Cleveland, the Pittsburgh quarterback's left foot swollen and his face awash in a painful grimace and figured Roethlisberger was done. Forgive the veteran wide receiver for his naivete, he's new here. A half hour after Roethlisberger's night — if not his season — seemed in jeopardy, the two-time Super Bowl winner was getting taped up to go back in. "I'm like, 'Wow, this is what I've been watching on TV from the other team,"' said Cotchery, who...

Cincinnati wide receiver A.J. Green grew so antsy waiting for Andy Dalton to snap the ball early in the Bengals' game against Pittsburgh, the star rookie flinched. His team soon followed. Green's false-start penalty negated a touchdown pass from Dalton to Jermaine Gresham on Cincinnati's opening series, the first of a dizzying array of mistakes by the Bengals in a 35-7 loss Sunday that all but ended Cincinnati's hopes of making a run at the AFC North title. "It's tough," Green said.