In the early portion of the Thursday Night Football matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Tennessee Titans at Acrisure Stadium to open up Week Nine in the NFL, Steelers’ rookie cornerback Joey Porter Jr. had a rough go of things.
Porter, making his second NFL start, had a rather ugly rep against the run taking on Titans rookie running back Tyjae Spears in the open field. Lacking that physicality he displayed in college at Penn State, Porter allowed Spears to turn what should have been no gain into a chain-moving run.
A few plays later, Porter was called for two flags on one play, one of which was offsides as he jumped into the neutral zone trying to press Titans’ wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. He then was called for illegal use of hands later on in the rep, wiping out an Alex Highsmith sack that would have held the Titans to a field goal.
After that rough display though, Porter settled down and locked down Hopkins and the Titans’ passing attack, allowing just one reception on the night. His performance impressed former Steelers cornerback and current scout Ike Taylor, for whom Porter wears the No. 24
Appearing on the latest episode of his podcast “Bleav in Steelers” with co-host Mark Bergin, Taylor credited Porter for settling down and playing his game, showing those lockdown corner abilities that the Steelers knew he had.
“JP Jr. kust gotta do a better job with the penalties,” Taylor said to Bergin, according to video via Bergin’s YouTube page. “But once he settled down, we saw that he started to display his capabilities of him trying to be a shutdown corner in the NFL. So, tip my hat to that.”
The start was slow, but the finish was fast — and impressive — for Porter.
The rookie cornerback stated after the 20-16 win that he went to head coach Mike Tomlin and requested to shadow Hopkins throughout the game. The Steelers were hesitant at first but ultimately relented, and Porter’s performance showed them that was the right decision. He held Hopkins to just one catch on five targets for 17 yards.
He did have a late holding penalty on Hopkins that extended the Titans’ final drive, giving Tennessee life. But the Penn State product clamped down an all-time great in impressive fashion in prime time, looking like a peak Ike Taylor in the process, taking away the opponent’s best option in the passing game.
With his length, athleticism and physicality in coverage, Porter has all the traits that a lockdown corner needs in today’s game. He’s very comfortable — and quite good — in press coverage and has the unrelenting belief in his ability to handle that role.
He showed that on Thursday night, impressing one former Steelers who held that role a long time in Taylor. We’ll see if he can continue to build off it.
