Jonathan Dwyer to be Steelers' starting RB; Rashard Mendenhall now No. 3

Jonathan Dwyer is now listed as the No. 1 running back on the Pittsburgh Steelers' depth chart, replacing Rashard Mendenhall a week after four Steelers running backs fumbled the ball.

Mendenhall, who ran for 1,000 yards the past two seasons, had been listed as the starting running back even when a pair of injuries caused him to miss seven of the team's first nine games. Now, he's listed as third behind Dwyer and Isaac Redman. Mendenhall was not listed on last week's injury report, so the demotion appears to be merit-based rather than due to injuries. The former first-round draft pick out of Illinois has only 58 yards on 19 carries this season.

Dwyer had previously said that he still considered himself to be a backup to the injured Mendenhall after back-to-back 100-yard days against the Bengals and Redskins. The third-year player from Georgia Tech leads the team with 429 yards on 4.4 yards per carry, with Redman second with 307 yards. Dwyer does not have any touchdowns on the season, while Redman has two, as does fourth-string Chris Rainey.

Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, the running back foursome combined for only 49 yards on 20 carries while losing four fumbles.