Coming off the bye week and into Week Seven’s matchup against the Los Angeles Rams, my eyes were glued to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ secondary. After rookie CB Joey Porter Jr. saw increased snaps in the Week Five win against the Baltimore Ravens, it seemed like he was poised for a big role.
Still, the Steelers were coy about his involvement, and it would mean moving the team’s other corners around. Facing a tough trio of Rams receivers, how would Pittsburgh decide to use its guys? We’ll walk through the details below but there was a clear shift in this game. Here’s the usage of each corner from Sunday’s win.
Patrick Peterson
Total Snaps: 62 (98.4 percent)
Slot Corner: 31
Left Corner: 15
Right Corner: 13
Free Safety: 2
Dimebacker: 1
Takeaways: Peterson’s intended versatility when signed was on full display in the Rams game. Peterson was the team’s left corner in base (though Pittsburgh hardly ran it because LA is almost always in 11 personnel) and in more run-likely situations (all his left cornerback snaps came on 1st/2nd and long). Otherwise, he was doing something else. The plurality of his snaps came in the nickel and his 30 snaps there were easily a career-high on the season.
He played free safety in a pair of “3-4 nickel” snaps when the team used three corners and just one safety, Minkah Fitzpatrick, against 11 personnel. Attempt to have run-heavy personnel out there while being able to cover their three receivers. He played one dime snap on the Rams’ last offensive play of the game.
Overall, Peterson still played almost every snap (the only exception came on a first and goal when Porter replaced him at left cornerback in nickel with Chandon Sullivan in the slot and Levi Wallace at right cornerback). He just got moved around more than usual and spent a lot of his time in the slot.
Levi Wallace
Total Snaps: 46 (73 percent)
Right Corner: 46
Takeaways: Every single one of Wallace’s snaps came at right corner. Not as much a surprise here. He hasn’t been moved around this season. But it’s notable the lost playing time, the biggest “loser” of the starting corners in terms of time off the field. His 46 snaps were the fewest of the season and the second-lowest percentage of the season, just ahead of Week Five when he barely played over the final 20 minutes. This week, he only played one of the team’s final nine defensive snaps.
Wallace’s struggles continued in this game. It got to the point where, as you’ll see below, James Pierre got the final two snaps at right cornerback over him. Mike Tomlin did not mention Wallace among the injured so he may have been benched at the very end. Something to watch.
Joey Porter Jr.
Total Snaps: 49 (77.7 percent)
Left Corner: 48
Right Corner: 1
Takeaways: A season-high for him in terms of overall snaps and snap percentage. Almost all at left corner though he did take an oddball snap on the right side midway through the first quarter. It wasn’t technically a starter’s role, he didn’t open the game on the field, but Wallace was replaced in the team’s base defense midway through the third quarter with Porter coming in and Peterson shifting over to right corner. Based on that, it’s possible Porter will actually start against the Jacksonville Jaguars, even if the Steelers come out in their base 3-4.
Chandon Sullivan
Total Snaps: 20 (31.7 percent)
Slot Corner: 20
Takeaways: Overall, his role was about the same as it’s been, even with Peterson seeing more time in the slot. The team still carved out a role for him on early downs. Of his 20 snaps, 19 of them came on 1st or 2nd down. The exception was a short-yardage, 3rd-and-1 situation.
James Pierre
Total Snaps: 2 (3.2 percent)
Right Corner: 2
Takeaways: Pierre saw his first defensive snaps of the season on the Steelers’ final two defensive plays. One in nickel, one in dime. It seems that was by choice and not injury-driven, but we’ll see what Pierre’s role looks like for Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. If he plays, it’ll come at Wallace’s expense.
