Rashard Mendenhall a 'savior' Steelers happy to see

• Pittsburgh's top pack amasses 101 total yards in first game since Jan. ACL tear
• Ben Roethlisberger deems Mendenhall team's 'savior' after club's early season struggles running the ball
• Battered 2-2 team has short turnaround before playing again Thursday night

PITTSBURGH — Running back Rashard Mendenhall returned from the knee injury which cut short his 2011 season, and don't expect Pittsburgh Steelers teammate Ben Roethlisberger to downplay the importance of the occasion.

"Our savior is back," the quarterback said following Sunday's 16-14 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.

In his 2012 debut, Mendenhall carried the ball 14 times for 81 yards and a touchdown — a 13-yard swing pass from Roethlisberger ruled a lateral, and therefore, a running play.

"It felt great," Mendenhall said. "But there is a lot more work to be done."

Any concerns over his mended anterior cruciate liagment were alleviated on that second-quarter sprint as Mendenhall caught the pass on his back shoulder, spun forward and raced to the corner with the kind of fluidity that helped the fifth-year back to more than 1,100 rushing yards in 2009 and 2010.

"Yeah, I'm going to protest that," Roethlisberger said of the 'rushing' touchdown, smiling. "I made a forward pass and Rashard made the rest of that happen.

"He looked great. I don't know if he feels good, but I'm sure he does. We just hope he made it out of this game without any more injury."

The Steelers were cautious in unleashing Mendenhall, who tore his right ACL on Jan. 1 during last season's regular-season finale. He got the okay to return this week and was listed as probable before the game. He said he felt fine afterward but wasn't sure if he could have done it a few weeks ago.

"It just wasn't the time," he said. "There was still some steps that I needed to take, and everybody wasn't fully comfortable. I think everything happened as it should, being out there today."

Steelers fans will surely agree. Pittsburgh needed a win to avoid a 1-3 start and benefitted from the bye week of rest. In addition to the return of Mendenhall, linebacker James Harrison and safety Troy Polamalu also came back from injuries. But coach Mike Tomlin said Polamalu aggravated his calf injury in the win. The extent of the damage is not known.

The coach was pleased with Mendenhall's performance despite an unforced third-quarter fumble that skipped out of bounds.

"He was a source of energy for the unit," Tomlin said. "That's what great players do. They inspire those around them. I thought he did that."

The Steelers have a short week of preparation before meeting the Titans on Thursday night in Tennessee.

Mendenhall says he's not worried about the rushed schedule.

"Like everything, I'll just take it one day at a time," he said. "Luckily, today they held me out some. We'll see how it shapes out next week, but I'm not worried about it."