After playing just seven snaps in Week One against the San Francisco 49ers, Pittsburgh Steelers rookie cornerback Joey Porter Jr. didn’t play a ton in Week Two.
He was, however, impactful in the snaps he played Monday night against the Cleveland Browns, breaking up a pass on the Browns’ second drive of the game.
But it was his last snap of the game that was the most impactful. On a fourth and 9 from the Pittsburgh 49, Porter found himself one-on-one on the right side of the offensive formation against Donovan Peoples-Jones.
Peoples-Jones ran a go route, but Porter was right with him step for step and squeezed the Browns receiver to the sideline, forcing an incompletion and a turnover on downs, setting off a wild celebration on the Steelers’ sideline. The play preserved Pittsburgh’s 26-22 win.
While the Steelers celebrated, Cleveland quarterback Deshaun Watson, Peoples-Jones and head coach Kevin Stefanski lobbied for a flag on the play. Porter did have a hold of Peoples-Jones’ jersey, but there was a lot of contact both ways, leading to no flag on the play.
Porter’s big-time rep helped the Steelers win a wild one overall. After a very rough outing from veteran cornerback Levi Wallace on Monday night, Porter showed quite a few times on the night that he’s ready for more work defensively in the Black and Gold.
