You know what time it is, guys. The Pittsburgh Steelers have eight wins entering today’s game, which can mean only one thing: it’s Super Bowl Sunday. As has been well established, the Steelers no longer hold any interest in winning actual Super Bowl titles. They much prefer the triumph of not losing more games than they win. If they manage to not lose today, they will have achieved their goal for the 2023 season.
Or, you know, something like that. Whatever. But at least we have some talented players, the best of the latest group being CB Joey Porter Jr. Though a bit grabby at this stage, he has proven himself to be a complete player and is being treated like a veteran by his opponents.
“He is a very smart corner”, Seattle Seahawks WR D.K. Metcalf said of the man he expects to shadow him today, via the Steelers’ website. “For him just being a rookie, he has made a lot of plays. He has taken on a lot of big receivers. It’s going to be a fun matchup going against him, knowing his dad was a heck of a football player for that same organization. I think it’s going to be a good matchup”.
He has reason to think so because Porter has been a part of some good, fun matchups throughout the second half of the season. More often than not, it seems, he has been tasked with shadowing opponents’ top receivers. And he has been successful in limiting them.
By just one metric, for example, only one qualifying quarterback has been more successful in coverage. He has only allowed one reception per 19.4 snaps in coverage, the only one allowing less frequent receptions being Chicago’s Jaylon Johnson. He also ranks seventh in snaps per target and is tied for ninth in forced incompletion percentage.
Basically, outside of penalties—the only cornerback in the league with more is the Kansas City Chiefs’ L’Jarius Sneed—he’s already playing at a high level. He’s greatly improved his tackling, which was a sizeable concern early on, but if he can cut down on the yellow laundry, he will be well on his way to establishing himself as a lockdown type.
“He’s out there, he’s playing like a vet”, Seahawks QB Geno Smith said of Porter. “He’s got a lot of confidence. A taller, more slender guy, long arms, seems like he does well in and out of breaks. Another guy that we’ve got to be on top of and make sure that when we’re going at him, we’re placing the ball in the right places”.
Porter’s importance has only continued to rise as injuries plague the secondary. With Patrick Peterson logging snaps at safety, even more of the burden falls on the rookie’s shoulders to hold down the fort, often in man coverage. But he’s done the job time and again. Can he handle Metcalf?
