Steelers RB Rashard Mendenhall's 146 yard and one touchdown performance in Pittsburgh's 17-13 win over Jacksonville earned him the AFC Offensive Player of the Week award.
It's the second time in two weeks a Steelers offensive player has won. QB Ben Roethlisberger won for the seventh time in his career after a 38-17 win over Tennessee in Week 5.
It's the second time Mendenhall has won the award, with the first coming in 2009, when he rushed for 165 yards and two touchdowns in Pittsburgh's win over San Diego.
The award comes just one week after Mendenhall missed a game due to a hamstring injury. Many suggested it was time for Mendenhall to split carries with Isaac Redman. CBS cameras showed shots of Mendenhall on the sideline as second-year RB Jonathan Dwyer broke off a 76-yard run against Tennessee, and he appeared frustrated.
It's clear Mendenhall received the message. In a dominating first-half performance, he broke a 68-yard run in the second quarter, perhaps reminding fans - and Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, who suggested he could perhaps split carries - why he's topped 1,000 yards the last two seasons.
Mendenhall and the Steelers will face Arizona next, a team in the bottom third of the league in run defense. The Steelers have rushed for 174 yards or more in their last two games, and both Dwyer's run and Mendenhall's run were career-highs for each.