The Battle for Pennsylvania will have some familiar faces suiting up for the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
The team will have injured running back Rashard Mendenhall, linebacker James Harrison and safety Troy Polamalu back against the Eagles after all three participated in practice on Friday. The team listed the three as probable on the injury report.
Polamalu will play after missing the past two games after suffering a calf injury in the season opener against Denver.
Mendenhall and Harrison will be playing for the first time this season. Harrison had knee surgery in August that saw him miss training camp and Mendenhall has been out since tearing his ACL on Jan. 1.
Both Harrison and Polamalu have been named Defensive Player of the Year in the past and should bring the Steelers some much needed stability. The team has given up 190 passing yards per game and ranks 14th in rush defense, allowing an average of 101 yards. Harrison has not played in a game since January.
According to ESPN.com, the Steelers have blown fourth quarter leads in both of their losses this season.
Mendenhall could be a huge boost for the Steelers if healthy. The running back has amassed 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons in 2009 and 2010 and has scored 29 touchdowns. Pittsburgh currently ranks 30th in the league in rush offense with 65 yards per game and could greatly improve that number if Mendenhall is fully healed.
The Steelers enter the game at 1-2 after a bye week while the Philadelphia Eagles come in at 3-1 after barely beating the Giants on Sunday night 19-17.
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