Steelers Now
PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin threw cold water on the idea of moving nose tackle Keeanu Benton around after a disappointing performance in Sunday’s 34-32 win over the New York Jets.
“There’s no real strong consideration of moving people around at this juncture, and Keeanu is expected to get better from Game 1 to Game 2 like everyone else,” Tomlin said. “I think it’s a reasonable expectation. At least it is for me. I think once you’ve been in the stadium and you’ve played 60 minutes of football, you know something about yourselves that you didn’t going into it. And I think that knowledge, that experience — individually and collectively — is a catalyst for improvement between Game 1 and Game 2.”
The Jets gashed the Steelers on the ground for 182 yards (4.7 average), and Benton was a big culprit in the defense getting trampled.
Former Steelers nose tackle Chris Hoke called out Benton on the Steelers Extra Point postgame show.
“He’s got to be a little bit better. He was short on some of his gaps. He tries to make plays and he’s got to play with technique and that’s one of the things when I watch the film, keep pushing, keep pushing,” Hoke said. “Get in your gap. Don’t come off to try and make plays, you get yourself out of position and that opens up a gap in the middle of the defense, and that’s what you saw today.”
Joe Tippmann vs Keeanu Benton on Braelon Allen TD run: #NYJets pic.twitter.com/usCQxnXz2z
— Jets Chaos (@JetsChaos) September 9, 2025
Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen did not hold back after the game. He was not happy with what the defense displayed.
“We (the defense) played like shit. I am not going to sugarcoat it, we played like shit and if we keep playing like that, we are going to get our face mashed in,” Queen said. “It’s that simple. I call it like it is, and we played like absolute trash.”
Queen and Payton Wilson have to do a better job of shedding blockers, but the poor play of the defensive line also played a factor. They were often getting pushed back into the inside linebackers.
Queen said it was minor details that derailed the defensive unit on Sunday.
“It was small things. Just staying in gaps, being physical and not getting off blocks,” he explained. “Every now and then, someone’s got to make a play. Sometimes we chase plays.”
The defense stopped the Jets on their final two drives, so the unit at least finished the game strong. Queen is happy to fix the mistakes off a win.
“Yeah definitely. I’ll take a win all day,” he said.
Alan Saunders provided reporting from Pittsburgh.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Steelers Have No Plans of Making Changes on Defensive Line
