Steelers' Keeanu Benton Wakes Up In Week 4 As Coaches Absolutely Take Notice: "Start Stacking Those"

The Pittsburgh Steelers delivered their most impressive performance of the 2025 season in Week 4, defeating the Minnesota Vikings 24-21 in Dublin, Ireland. It was their most complete outing yet, featuring an efficient rushing attack, a defense that forced two turnovers, and clutch plays from contributors across the roster. The Steelers finally played to the potential in which fans had hoped they would heading into the season. One player in particular stood out for his dominant performance, and that was defensive tackle Keeanu Benton.

The Steelers drafted Benton with the 49th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Wisconsin. Coming out of college, he was known for his size, strength, and ability to plug up running lanes, but he also had flashes of being a true pass-rushing threat from the interior. In his rookie season, Benton lived up to the hype. He carved out a starting role by the end of the year and looked like one of the future anchors of the defensive line. His combination of power and quickness made him a problem for opposing teams, and his growth gave the Steelers another young piece to build around on defense.

Benton's play dipped in 2024, and the first three games of 2025 were also quiet, but Benton made his presence felt in the Steelers' win over the Vikings. He totaled four tackles, one and a half sacks, and a tackle for loss. His performance caught the eye of the coaching staff too. While speaking to the media this week, Defensive Coordinator Teryl Austin acknowledged Benton's talent and potential.

"We’ve always seen he’s had that ability to be that disruptive inside," Austin told reporters. "It’s one of those things where he finished his plays [Week 4], and I said to him in meetings this week, 'Hey, let’s start stacking those,'" said Austin.

The Steelers' coaching staff knows what he’s capable of, but they also know that consistency is the next step. It’s one thing to have one big game, but the Steelers need Benton to perform at that level week-in-week-out. Pittsburgh clearly still believes in Benton’s upside, but they’re also preparing for the future. 

After his shaky 2024 season, Pittsburgh used the 21st overall pick in this year’s draft to take Derrick Harmon, another defensive lineman with massive potential. Harmon has only played in two games so far this season due to injury, but his presence has already added more depth and competition to the group.

The hope now is that Benton’s performance in Dublin wasn’t just a one game flash, but the start of a trend. If he can string together more games like that, Pittsburgh’s defense could become dominant. Guys like TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith will always draw attention off the edge, but if Benton, Harmon, and Cameron Heyward can continue to wreck plays in the middle, offenses will have nowhere to run.

Steelers' Defensive Front Will Look To Slow Down Browns' Rushing Attack

The Steelers will return after their bye week to host the Cleveland Browns at Acrisure Stadium on Sunday. The Browns are coming in off of a 21-17 loss to the Vikings in London in Week 5. Despite the loss, the Browns played arguably their best game of the season, while being led by two rookies.

Dillon Gabriel made his first start and looked solid, throwing two touchdown passes and taking care of the ball, but the main storyline was rookie running back Quinshon Judkins out of Ohio State. Judkins rushed for 110 yards on 23 carries as the Browns rushed for 140 yards as a team. Pittsburgh has had difficulty stopping the run this season, but we'll see if Benton and company can put together another impressive performance to shut down the Browns' rushing attack. 

Do you think Week 4 was just a one-off performance from Benton? Or a trend for the future? Comment below!

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