The Pittsburgh Steelers rebounded from a disappointing loss on Sunday to score a victory days later and stay above .500 on the season. And as it so often has this year, the game came down to the wire, with the penultimate play ultimately deciding things.
That was when ILB Kwon Alexander secured an interception off Tennessee Titans rookie QB Will Levis, the third time that drive a defender got his hands on the ball but the first time they finished the play. CB Levi Wallace nearly ended it on the first play of the drive, and just a couple plays before Alexander’s interception, CB Darius Rush had his opportunity.
But in between, the competitive portion of the game nearly ended on a turnover on downs with 53 seconds to play from the Titans’ 30-yard line. Levis threw incomplete looking for WR DeAndre Hopkins, with DL Cameron Heyward generating the pressure, but CB Joey Porter Jr.—in coverage on Hopkins—was flagged for defensive holding.
“Yeah, it was definitely a ticky-tack call”, he said after the game, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “but it’s D-Hop, so he’s always physical on the top of his routes, so you’ve kind of got to play that game with him. Sometimes you’re not gonna get it, sometimes you are. He got it right there. He [had] to keep working for those every time, so I wasn’t really worried about that”.
The game marked the second official start of Porter’s career after being selected 32nd overall in the 2023 NFL Draft. He had been on a steady rise after starting the season as a dime defender and making plays in limited opportunities.
The more exposure you get, of course, the more exposed you are, and we did see some of Porter’s shortcomings last night. His tackling remains a work in progress, and he is still working on playing cleaner.
His late defensive holding penalty was actually the fourth flag he drew on the night. He was also flagged for being offside, for a facemask penalty (while attempting to make a tackle), and for illegal use of the hands.
As for the ticky-tack call, you can judge for yourself, but the video evidence certainly corroborates the point he was making about Hopkins. The veteran wide receiver sought to gain separation from the rookie defensive back off the top of his route by pushing off of his inside shoulder about eight yards beyond the line of scrimmage.
He also gave him a little slap to the face, whether intentionally or not, after which Porter tugged at his jersey. By the way, for those who might have been questioning it since the Steelers were arguing that the pass was tipped, that only applies to pass interference. Defensive holding is a pre-throw call, and thus does not take into consideration whether the pass was catchable or if it was tipped.
