For the Pittsburgh Steelers rush defense, a season of perceived progress has recently reverted to the trashy results Pittsburgh fans witnessed throughout 2021.

A year so bad for the defensive unit that it finished last in the NFL against the run at 146.1 yards per game.

As recently as their trip to Atlanta to face the Falcons two games ago, the Steelers were up to seventh in the league against the run. At halftime of that contest, the Falcons — who are currently fourth in the NFL on the ground at 158.9 yards per game — had just 28 yards rushing.

Since then, though, the Steelers defense has gone back to hemorrhaging rushing yards. Over the last six quarters against Atlanta and the Baltimore Ravens, those two opponents totaled a ghastly 333 yards on the ground.

“Just (have to) get better at our technique. That’s all we can do,” defensive captain Cameron Heyward said Thursday. “It’s not a process that gets solved with just one game. You are going to constantly get challenged in your run game. And we have to continue to improve.”

Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin insists the Steelers haven’t been out-schemed by Baltimore and Atlanta, two of the four best rushing teams in football. Rather it’s been an issue of execution.

“You can chalk it up to scheme. But, really, a lot of times, it’s just hitting guys. Getting their hands off. Getting their hands on offensive guys, getting off blocks and making tackles. We didn’t do enough of that the last two weeks,” Austin said Thursday.

To make matters worse, the Steelers now have to face the Carolina Panthers. Currently, the Panthers are 13th in the NFL running the football at 124.9 yards per game. Of late, those numbers don’t tell the whole story.

As 2022 has gone along, the Panthers have gone from a team that was lousy at running the ball to one that has gotten quite good at it. Through the first six games, the Panthers failed to generate 100-yards rushing four times.

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However, over the past four games, Carolina has twice exceeded 220 yards. In that span, interim coach Steve Wilks’ group is averaging 169 yards per game. As a comparison, the Chicago Bears — who lead the NFL with 189.2 rushing yards per game — are the only franchise averaging more than that over the course of the season.

Since coach Matt Rhule was fired after the team’s 1-4 start, the Panthers are averaging 32.3 rushing attempts per game. Over the first five weeks, they only tried to run the ball 20.6 times per game.

“I just think it’s been within the last month. I think they’re discovering themselves continually, and that’s not surprising considering the circumstances that they’ve been working through in terms of lack of stability,” coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday.

Strangely, the Panthers seem to have gotten better at running the football since they traded former All-Pro running back Christian McCaffery to the San Francisco 49ers following Week 6.

“It’s maybe a different style of running game from when they had McCaffrey. They are going to try to get four hands on a couple of different linemen and get some push inside and let the big back move the pile. It may not be as explosive and as sexy as when McCaffrey was in there. But it really is effective and continues to move the chains,” Austin said.

That big back is 235-pound Dont’a Foreman. He has been the main beneficiary of the dedication to power-rushing in Charlotte. Since Oct. 23, Foreman has had four games of 113 yards or more. He leads the team with 687 yards rushing.

That approach has been augmented by the Panthers’ personnel choices in their run game, sometimes deploying six or more offensive linemen.

“It’s like goal-line (offense) in the middle of the field,” Austin said. “It’s unique. But it shows their commitment to the run game.”

The Panthers even include a look with eight offensive linemen on the field at once. It’s their so-called “Arby’s” package.

“Arby’s” because, as offensive lineman Brady Christensen put it, with that much beef on the field, “We have the meats.”

Get it?

Free plugs for fast food chains aside, the Panthers may want to skip breakfast on Sunday. Because unless the Steelers defense suddenly goes back to what was working in the middle portion of this season, Foreman and the rest of Carolina’s ground game look like they can begin gorging themselves at 1 p.m.

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