With a solid draft haul that many analysts regarded as the NFL’s top class, Pittsburgh Steelers rookies were counted on to play early and often this season. In Week One against the San Francisco 49ers, many of them did. Nose tackle Keeanu Benton saw significant action, snaps which will only increase following Cam Heyward’s surgery. Tight end Darnell Washington is a key part of the team’s 12 personnel. Even first-round pick offensive tackle Broderick Jones made his NFL debut coming off the bench, logging four snaps at the end of the game.
Second-round pick cornerback Joey Porter Jr. made his debut as well Sunday. But it was one that could’ve been easily missed. He logged just seven snaps, recording one tackle in the 30-7 loss. As for why he played so little, Mike Tomlin had an explanation.
“That was his role last weekend,” Tomlin said Tuesday during his weekly press conference via the team’s YouTube channel when asked about Porter’s usage. “They did such a really good job of staying on schedule that it was probably less than we anticipated.”
As Tomlin said, all of Porter’s snaps were in the Steelers’ dime defense. Playing from behind for almost the entire game and with the 49ers following their run-heavy script perfectly, there was little chance to get him on the field. Porter’s first snap came with 5:32 left in the first quarter, a third-and-14 play where Pittsburgh got a stop and got off the field. He played four snaps in the second quarter but just three in the second half as the 49ers sat on their lead and took the air out of the ball.
As Tomlin indicated, Porter played only on third and long. Here’s every down/distance he was on the field for Sunday:
— 3rd and 14
— 3rd and 7
— 3rd and 7
— 3rd and 6
— 3rd and 8
— 3rd and 6
— 3rd and 11
The problem was the 49ers were rarely in “and long” situations. And they never had to play catch-up ball. It meant little opportunity for Porter to see the field and not much of a chance to evaluate him.
Tomlin used the question to outline how game circumstance often dictates personnel.
“The 49ers were able to play to their agenda and their plans and we were not,” he said. “Obviously, we had intentions of playing Joey more than that. But you better have them behind the chains and off schedule a little bit more than we had them off schedule. If not, then you’ll play seven snaps of dime because you don’t play dime on third down and two.”
The 49ers ran more than half their plays inside Steelers territory. Their personality is built around being a heavy-personnel bunch, using a fullback more than any other team in the league. Of their 66 offensive snaps, 43 of them contained either two backs (running back and a fullback), two tight ends, or both. As Tomlin says, you don’t play dime in those situations.
Should Pittsburgh find more success against the Cleveland Browns Monday night, Porter will see more snaps. But that means handling a Browns run game led by Nick Chubb and an offense that rushed for over 200 yards against a solid Cincinnati Bengals’ defense in Week One. Pittsburgh’s mission will be to stop the run out of its base defense and then deploy its dime package on third and more than six yards. If they do that, Porter will play more, and the Steelers will get a better chance to evaluate him.
