The last time the Pittsburgh Steelers ventured into Buffalo, Le’Veon Bell set the franchise single-game rushing record with 236 yards on a snowy December day at Bills Stadium.

When the Steelers return to western New York on Sunday night for the first time since that 2016 game, they will be coming off another record-setting performance — one occupying the other side of the spectrum.

The 21 rushing yards the Steelers generated in their 23-17 loss to Washington on Monday night was tied for the sixth-lowest single-game total in franchise history and represented the second-worst performance in the Mike Tomlin era.

The effort was magnified by Benny Snell’s failure to get a single yard on three cracks from the Washington 1 in the second quarter. But the Steelers’ struggles to move the football on the ground wasn’t popcorn — to use a Tomlin-ism — meaning it wasn’t confined to a sporadic moment.

Consider in the past four games, the Steelers have totaled 239 yards rushing yards — or three fewer than Bell got in that game at Buffalo. Extend a look back to the past six games, and the Steelers have totaled 333 yards on 115 carries, a 2.9 average.

The running game’s issues were overlooked while the Steelers were building an undefeated season after 11 weeks. It now is a hot-button issue with the Steelers unbeaten no more and in danger of losing for a second straight week given the Bills are 9-3 and leading the AFC East.

“I’m just worried about us fluidly moving the football, whether it’s run or pass,” Tomlin said after the Steelers averaged 1.5 yards on 14 attempts against Washington. “We move it how we choose to move it. The way that we chose to move it (Monday) wasn’t fluid enough for us to have victory.”

The only times the Steelers rushed for fewer yards in Tomlin’s 14 seasons was in a 26-14 Week 4 loss to Baltimore in 2018. The Steelers gained 19 yards on 11 carries. Before that in the AFL-NFL merger era, the Steelers gained 21 yards against the Ravens in 2006 and 18 against Denver in 1970. The record low was a minus-3 performance against Detroit in 1952.

Against Washington, the Steelers had nine rushing attempts that resulted in 1 yard, no gain or negative yardage. Not all, of course, were in short-yardage situations.

“The big thing for us is to examine why and get back to the lab and recapture some of the rhythm that we’ve had in those situational moments throughout the year,” Tomlin said.

“There have been times during the year where we haven’t run the ball as well as we would like, but even in the midst of those situational moments, we have been solid. We weren’t in our last performance, and we have to own that.”

The Steelers began de-emphasizing the run in the second half of their Nov. 1 game at Baltimore when they trailed by 10 points at halftime. Since that game, Ben Roethlisberger has averaged 48 passing attempts compared to 20 rushing plays.

Until Monday, the Steelers weren’t the only team proving it could win without a heavy dose of running the ball. The Kansas City Chiefs, also 11-1, have one more rushing attempt than the Steelers this season. The difference is, the Chiefs average 113.2 rushing yards per game compared to the Steelers’ 92.6, and they are getting 4.5 yards per carry to the Steelers’ 3.7.

In 2019, when the Chiefs won the Super Bowl, they had the sixth-fewest rushing attempts in the NFL.

“We believe in our guys,” Roethlisberger said. “We believe in our guys up front and our backs. Sometimes, it is on me. It’s an RPO, and I throw it instead of hand it off. Maybe I should have handed it off. We all need to get better. It’s more than the run game. We need to get better as a group.

“That fluidity comes from staying on the field and converting third downs, and that’s on me.”

For the Buffalo game, the Steelers will have starting running back James Conner available after a two-game stint on the reserve/covid-19 list. Center Maurkice Pouncey, who also has missed two games because of the virus, is eligible to be activated later in the week. His return could boost an offensive line that has excelled in pass protection but hasn’t provided the required push when run blocking.

“He’s, in my opinion, the best in the business, a Hall of Fame center,” Roethlisberger said. “Anytime you’ve got that guy up there, not only physically, but in terms of what he can do and brings to the game emotionally, mentally, it’s big. He’s the linchpin up front. I say as we go, they go up front, and he’s the main guy up there. They’ll all feel more comfortable with Pounce back.”

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