The Pittsburgh Steelers defense have shut down two elite rushing offenses the past two weeks. To be strong against the run, a defense has to have several unsung heroes keeping containment and occupying multiple blockers.
Fourth-year defensive lineman Keeanu Benton is becoming that for the Steelers. In Week 6 versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he arguably played his best game of the season.
Steelers defensive coordinator Patrick Graham has always spoken highly of Benton, who developed a relationship with the lineman before he was even drafted. Graham coached Benton at the 2023 Senior Bowl.
Graham, though, particularly loved what he saw from Benton in Tampa.
“I was very pleased with him, very pleased,” said Graham to reporters Monday. “From the first run play he had, the violence with which — lock out, peek, shed, find the ball carrier, get the TFL. He’s inside leverage, and he makes the play in the C-gap. That’s a dynamic play for a defensive lineman. Then what he was doing in terms of the pass rush, collapsing the pocket.
“We talk about the musts for the game in terms of his role or in terms of collapsing the pocket and being aware to get his hands up versus a quarterback whose stature is not as tall.
“I thought it was a really solid game for him.”
Benton posted three combined tackles, including two for loss against the Buccaneers. The 25-year-old also had one pass defense.
Steelers’ Keeanu Benton Stands Out in Win Against Buccaneers
Benton was already doing things that fly under the radar to help the Steelers defense, particularly against the run, this season. But it’s fair to characterize Sunday as a breakout day for Benton this season because he flashed on highlight-reel type plays.
On the second play from scrimmage for Tampa Bay, Benton tackled Bucky Irving for a 2-yard loss. Benton also had a Cameron Heyward-like pass defense at the line of scrimmage in the first quarter.
Behind Benton’s strong day, the Steelers held Irving to 46 rushing yards and just 2.4 yards per carry. That came just a week after Irving ran for 165 yards and a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys.
The Sunday before shutting down Irving, All-Pro running back Jonathan only had 45 rushing yards versus the Pittsburgh defense. The Steelers have yielded only 84 rushing yards per game the past two weeks. Pittsburgh held Indianapolis and Tampa Bay to that average despite not having defensive lineman Derrick Harmon in the lineup.
With the two strong performances, the Steelers have jumped to 14th in run defense and 18th in yards allowed per carry.
Graham emphasized again to reporters Monday how much he stresses stopping the run to his players.
“To me, this has been my MO since I’ve been doing this. We have to funnel the ball back to the big men,” said Graham. “That’s how you play [successful] run defense in the NFL…
“It’s all about how we funnel the ball back to the big men. Everybody has a role out there on that field.”
Typically, Benton has been the funnel. But against the Buccaneers, he was also the big man making highlight plays.
Steelers DC Speaks out on DT Keeanu Benton After Breakout Performance