When former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall took to the field in only his third preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings, he had no clue how memorable of a game it would be in all the wrong ways. Two fumbles in one game, even preseason, will get a rookie put on notice.
The one delivering that notice? None other than Hines Ward, legendary wide receiver and MVP of Super Bowl 40. Mendenhall spoke with VLADTV on YouTube about that conversation with Ward.
“He did that program… where they put a ball in my hand in the facility and said, all right, keep this ball,” Mendenhall said with a laugh. “Everybody in here is gonna try and make you lose it and fumble, and for every time you lose a ball, you owe us a hundred dollars. There were $500 balls as well. So he put a ball in my hand and just wanted to let me know the importance of, you’re gonna be our running back, you’re carrying our hopes and dreams in your arms. So they wanted to let me know how serious it was.”
Mendenhall continued by saying he had to carry a football with him wherever he went in the facility. The only exception? “The only time off was going into the shower, really.”
To Mendenhall’s credit, he responded by not fumbling once in four games as a rookie. He only carried the ball 19 times, but it was still an improvement over that preseason game versus the Vikings. Unfortunately, his rookie season would be the only season where he did not fumble.
Now, it isn’t like Mendenhall became a fumbling machine in Pittsburgh. He had two seasons with three fumbles (2009 and 2012) while fumbling twice in 2010 and only once in 2011. Even in 2009, where he had three fumbles, he touched the ball 267 times that season. That means he fumbled approximately 1% of the time while averaging 4.6 yards per carry and 10.4 yards per reception and bringing in eight total touchdowns while accounting for 1,369 yards from scrimmage.
2010 was a banner year for Mendenhall, rushing for 1,273 yards and 13 touchdowns while only fumbling twice in the regular season. The Steelers made it to the playoffs, and Mendenhall even contributed four touchdowns during the postseason run. Unfortunately, he would fumble on the biggest stage of them all on the first play of the fourth quarter with the Steelers trailing 21-17. The Green Bay Packers would go down and score on the ensuing possession.
Now is Mendenhall the reason the Steelers lost that game? No. QB Ben Roethlisberger threw two interceptions in that game as well, including a pick-six in the first half. Yet the memory burned into most people’s heads from that game was Mendenhall fumbling. It’s a shame, really. During the regular season for his first four seasons in Pittsburgh, Mendenhall actually protected the ball quite well. (His final season with the Steelers is a different story, with three fumbles on 60 total touches.)
For three seasons, from 2009-2011, Mendenhall was the bell cow running back in Pittsburgh. He ran for 3,309 yards and 29 touchdowns while also catching the ball 66 times. That’s an awful lot of touches for only six fumbles. Perhaps Ward’s post-game speech after Mendenhall’s third preseason game as a rookie helped him through those three busy seasons.
And remember, there was another running back in Pittsburgh who fumbled an awful lot more than Mendenhall. 90 times over 13 seasons, in fact. He also had 10 fumbles in the playoffs, too. However, Steelers fans have a very different play burned into their memories.
Iconic.
You can watch the rest of Mendenhall’s conversation about that preseason game below.
