Super Bowl XLV: Top 10 2010-2011 Performances By the Pittsburgh Steelers

Whenever a team makes it to the Super Bowl, it's a safe bet that they had quite a few impressive individual performances throughout the season. 

This absolutely holds true when looking back at the regular season of the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

Whether it was by one of the bevy of impact defensive players or an offensive player, Pittsburgh provided NFL fans with quite a few memorable individual showings. 

Read on for the 10 best of the 2010-2011 regular season. 

Rashard Medenhall Week 1

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PITTSBURGH, PA - JANUARY 23: Rashard Mendenhall #34 of the Pittsburgh Steelers runs down field against the New York Jets during the 2011 AFC Championship game at Heinz Field on January 23, 2011 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Steelers defeated the Jets

Playing without Ben Roethlisberger to open the season, the Pittsburgh Steelers faced a daunting task in beating the Atlanta Falcons. 

The game was close throughout. In fact, the score was tied at nine heading into overtime. 

Just 2:35 into the overtime period, Rashard Mendenhall took a handoff and burst through the red and black defenders, not stopping until he reached the end zone 50 yards later for the winning score. 

It was Mendenhall's 22nd carry that day and gave him a total of 120 rushing yards to go along with his score. He also caught two passes for 15 yards. 

James Harrison Week 2

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PITTSBURGH, PA - JANUARY 15: Linebacker James Harrison #92 of the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrates after a play against the Baltimore Ravens during the AFC Divisional Playoff Game at Heinz Field on January 15, 2011 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by G

Any time you hold an NFL offense to just 11 points, there are bound to be a few memorable individual performances on defense. 

James Harrison was the standout in this game, recording 11 tackles, 10 of which were solo takedowns of a Titan. 

Harrison found his way to the quarterback quite often as well. He had two sacks and registered another quarterback hit. 

He even forced a fumble and recovered another. 

Rashard Mendenhall Week 3

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TAMPA, FL - SEPTEMBER 26: Running back Rashard Mendenhall #34 of the Pittsburgh Steelers tries to out run defenders Cody Grimm #35 and Ronde Barber #20 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the game at Raymond James Stadium on September 26, 2010 in Tampa, F

With Charlie Batch starting against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Steelers ground game needed to be humming. 

It was. 

Rashard Mendenhall led the charge with 19 carries for 143 yards, averaging more than seven yards per carry. 

He also found the end zone once in the second quarter on a three-yard run to reclaim the lead. 

Mendenhall picked up most of his yards in the second half, which was instrumental in running the clock out and preserving the win. 

James Harrison Week 6

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PITTSBURGH - OCTOBER 17: James Harrison #92 of the Pittsburgh Steelers encourages the fans to make noise while playing the Cleveland Browns on October 17, 2010 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh won the game 28-10. (Photo by Gregory

This was a game that many people will remember because of James Harrison's bone-crunching hits. The legality of two, the ones against Josh Cribbs and Mohamed Massaquoi, will be questioned for quite some time, but don't let that keep you from fully understanding the impact that Harrison had on this game. 

The linebacker recorded a team-high 11 tackles, 10 of which were solo tackles. He also had two sacks, defensed a pass and hit the quarterback three more times. 

Harrison was a destructive force against the Cleveland Browns in this 28-10 victory. 

Mike Wallace Week 10

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PITTSBURGH, PA - NOVEMBER 14: Mike Wallace #17 of the Pittsburgh Steelers attempst to run through the New England Patriots defense during the game on November 14, 2010 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

It's pretty tough to come back from a 23-3 fourth quarter deficit against the New England Patriots, but Mike Wallace helped the Pittsburgh Steelers to at least make the final score somewhat close. 

In Week 10 against the hated Patriots, Wallace reeled in eight receptions on 11 targets from Ben Roethlisberger. His catches went for 136 yards and two touchdowns, both of which came during that attempted fourth quarter comeback. 

It wasn't enough, but it will go down as Wallace's best statistical game of the 2010-2011 season. 

Ben Roethlisberger Week 11

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PITTSBURGH - NOVEMBER 21: Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers drops back to pass against the Oakland Raiders during the game on November 21, 2010 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

Ben Roethlisberger overcame both the Oakland Raiders and the open hand of Richard Seymour that slapped him across the jaw to post a dominant performance in Week 11's 35-3 blowout win. 

Roethlisberger completed 18 of his 29 passes for 275 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for 55 yards and a fourth touchdown. 

That's right, Roethlisberger single-handedly contributed 25 more points than the entire Raiders team could generate. 

The Steelers ran the score up a bit when Roethlisberger hit Isaac Redman for a 16-yard score with just 1:12 left in the fourth quarter, but Seymour made that almost inevitable. 

James Harrison Week 11

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PITTSBURGH - NOVEMBER 21: James Harrison #92 of the Pittsburgh Steelers pumps up the crowd during the game against the Oakland Raiders on November 21, 2010 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

In that same 35-3 win, Troy Polamalu, James Farrior and James Harrison were completely dominant while holding the Raiders to just a single field goal. 

Polamalu picked off a pass, defensed two passes and recorded six tackles. 

Farrior had eight tackles and a sack. 

But Harrison was once more the standout on defense. The linebacker had five tackles, none of which were assisted and two of which were for losses. He also recorded two sacks, defensed a pass and delivered two more hits on the quarterback. 

Shaun Suisham Week 12

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PITTSBURGH - NOVEMBER 21: Shaun Suisham #6 of the Pittsburgh Steelers watches his team warm up prior to the game against the Oakland Raiders on November 21, 2010 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

The Pittsburgh Steelers were bailed out in their Week 12 win against the Buffalo Bills both by the foot of Shaun Suisham and the normally-trusty hands of Stevie Johnson. 

After an early Rashard Mendenhall touchdown run, Suisham knocked through the extra point and then connected on a 45-yard field goal and a 46-yard field goal in the second quarter to increase the lead to 13-0. 

The Bills then scored 13 unanswered points to tie up the score before Suisham made a 48-yard field goal with 6:19 left in the fourth quarter to take a 16-13 lead. 

Eventually, overtime was forced, and then, a perfectly thrown pass was dropped by Johnson in the end zone. If he had 10 chances to make that play, he'd make it the other nine times. 

The Steelers got the ball back and Suisham made a 41-yard field goal for the win, his fourth of the day. 

Troy Polamalu Week 14

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PITTSBURGH - DECEMBER 12: Troy Polamalu #43 of the Pittsburgh Steelers intercepts a pass from Carson Palmer #9 of the Cincinnati Bengals during the game on December 12, 2010 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Ima

Troy Polamalu opened the scoring for the Pittsburgh Steelers when his interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter tied the score up at 7 with the Cincinnati Bengals. 

It was just one of his two interceptions of fellow former-Trojan Carson Palmer. 

Polamalu also recorded two tackles and defensed another two passes. Palmer probably had nightmares about Polamalu's hair that night. 

LaMarr Woodley Week 14

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PITTSBURGH - DECEMBER 12: LaMarr Woodley #56 of the Pittsburgh Steelers returns an interception for a touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals during the game on December 12, 2010 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Get

Also instrumental in holding the Bengals to just seven points in Week 14 was LaMarr Woodley. 

He picked off Carson Palmer in the fourth quarter and returned the interception for 14 yards and a touchdown that increased the Pittsburgh lead to 20-7. 

Woodley also had five solo tackles, two of which were for losses. To go along with that, he hit the quarterback twice, defensed one of Palmer's passes and sacked Palmer twice.