Though he didn’t start the game, Pittsburgh Steelers rookie cornerback Joey Porter Jr. certainly knows how to finish it.
Playing extended snaps on Sunday at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles against the Rams’ high-powered attack featuring star receiver Cooper Kupp and quarterback Matthew Stafford, Porter came alive in the biggest moments of the game. He made key plays for the Steelers in a thrilling 24-17 win to move the Steelers to 4-2 on the season.
While Porter certainly had some miscues in the game with missed tackles, he was quite good in coverage, making a pair of key plays on tight-window throws, forcing incompletions in the process.
Porter’s play on Sunday earned pointed praise from head coach Mike Tomlin, who stated after the win that Porter did what the Steelers expected him to do on the field.
“Looked like he stood up like a big dog, but we expect him to,” Tomlin said to reporters, according to video via the Steelers’ YouTube page. “But that’s why we’re excited about getting him where we got him in the draft.”
Porter stepped up in a big way on Sunday. His play on Nacua on third down early in the fourth quarter forcing an incompletion was a big one as the Rams went three-and-out, giving the ball back to a red-hot Steelers’ offense. Ten plays and 80 yards later, the Steelers were on top with a lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.
The rookie corner then had a breakup on a pass over the middle intended for Kupp, leading to another punt from the Rams, allowing the Steelers to salt away the game.
All week, the Steelers hinted that Porter was going to get more play time defensively after performing quite well in the season’s first five games. But early in the game, the Steelers had Porter on the bench. Then things switched midway through the first quarter after the Rams had some early success through the air.
After that, Porter was on the field quite often, leading to some clutch plays down the stretch as the rookie stepped up and really made an impact for the Steelers’ defense. Hopefully there’s more of that moving forward.
