Receiving more playing time than originally expected in his NFL debut Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Keeanu Benton had quite the debut in the Black and Gold, albeit in a 30-7 blowout.
Seeing the field more often on Sunday at Acrisure Stadium due to the injury to star defensive lineman Cameron Heyward and second-year defensive lineman DeMarvin Leal banged up as well, Benton played 29 snaps in the loss to San Francisco.
In those 29 snaps, Benton played quite well, grading out at an 86.1 overall from Pro Football Focus, including a 72.0 against the run and a surprising 82.9 as a pass rusher. Benton totaled one pressure in the loss and had three tackles in the trenches. He was one of the few bright spots defensively.
Speaking with reporters Monday back inside the Steelers’ locker room in the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on the South Side, Benton said that the regular season game wasn’t all that different from the games he played in during the preseason, and stated that regardless of what level it’s at, playing defensive line is the same.
“I feel like it was all right. Just kind of getting the groove of things, going out there in preseason,” Benton said to reporters, according to video via Steelers.com. “I’ve heard talk about preseason being so much different from regular season, but like I said before, I feel like [playing] defensive line is you putting your hands on somebody and it’s gonna be a winner and a loser. And I feel like it was the same as college.
“Just going out there playing my gap, getting knocked back, shedding off blocks, kind of the same things just at a faster pace.”
Seems like a rather simple assessment, and an accurate one, too.
Sometimes, players can overthink things and get caught up in the moment of being in the NFL compared to college, being under the bright lights of the spotlight on a global scale in the NFL.
Benton doesn’t seem to be that way.
Even being thrust into a larger role on Sunday, Benton did what he he showed in the preseason, which was be an impactful defensive lineman for the Steelers in the middle. He played with good force at times, had a big hit on Christian McCaffrey on one run stop, and was able to move some bodies around in the trenches, which was rather impressive from a rookie in his first regular season action.
With Heyward expected to miss a minimum of four weeks with the groin injury suffered Sunday, Benton could be in line for a greater role moving forward. Based on his performance in the preseason and then his strong showing on Sunday in a lopsided loss, there is some hope that Benton will be a key piece up front for the Steelers with the absence of Heyward.
