Throughout the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Thursday Night Football matchup with the Tennessee Titans, it became clear that Steelers rookie cornerback Joey Porter Jr. was shadowing Tennessee Titans WR DeAndre Hopkins. It was a break in procedure from Pittsburgh, which primarily keeps its corners on a certain side of the field instead of having them travel with receivers, but it was clear that Porter was primarily matched up with Hopkins, regardless of the spot on the field. Porter said it was a matchup he specifically requested.
“On Tuesday, I went to Coach T and I told him ‘I want 10.’ That’s what I was looking for. I don’t really hide from nothing. I said, ‘That’s the matchup I want, that’s the matchup I need.’ He didn’t really say yes on Tuesday, he’s like we gonna think about it, cause they’re like that’s kinda crazy. But throughout the week they said, ‘Alright, we’ll let you get 10 on some reps and during the game,’ and throughout the game it was like you just go where 10 at,” Porter said in the locker room after the win, via Mike Garafolo of NFL Media.
Hopkins was coming off a game with 128 yards and three touchdowns, the first one he played with rookie QB Will Levis. Even if Hopkins hadn’t come into the game with some momentum, he’s still not an easy matchup for anyone, especially a rookie. But Porter managed to contain Hopkins, holding him to one reception for 17 yards on five targets with Porter as the nearest defender. Hopkins finished the game with four catches for 60 yards.
Porter is a long cornerback, and his length and press coverage at the line of scrimmage was something that bothered Hopkins. Since earning regular playing time in Week Five against the Baltimore Ravens, Porter has been Pittsburgh’s best cornerback, and while some aspects of his game were shaky tonight, all and all it was still a decent outing. Being able to contain Hopkins the way he did was impressive, but it’s even more impressive to do it while calling his shot. It also speaks a lot to the coaches’ growing confidence in the rookie that they gave him that opportunity.
To be a good cornerback in the NFL, you need to have a lot of confidence. That confidence can’t carry over and become cockiness, but Porter was clearly confident in himself that he could get the better of Hopkins, and the second-round draft pick backed it up. It’s a great sign out of the rookie, and we’ll see if there’s more to come.
