It’s been an up-and-down season for second-year CB Joey Porter Jr. In order to avoid stacking losses and hold onto their AFC North lead over the Baltimore Ravens, the Pittsburgh Steelers need a big performance from Porter Sunday against Ja’Marr Chase and the Cincinnati Bengals.
“I think Joey, he knows the spotlight’s gonna be on him in this game,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Brian Batko said Tuesday on 93.7 The Fan’s Pomp & Joe Show. “He’s gotta bounce back in this one and try to avoid kind of the up and down, ebb and flow that he’s been in. But that is sort of the nature of his position.”
Porter created very high expectations for himself with an unusually great rookie season last year. He shut down guys like Amari Cooper, Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, DeAndre Hopkins and others while following them around for most of the game.
The 2023 second-round draft pick has been much less consistent this year. When Porter is at his best, he still looks like he could turn into one of the top corners in the entire league. But then he has games like the one against the Washington Commanders where he commits three penalties and allows six receptions on seven targets into his coverage for 131 yards.
“He’s risen to the occasion in the past to take on Ja’Marr Chase last year,” Batko said. “That game down there in Cincinnati, he was all over him.”
Chase was indeed one of the top-notch receivers that Porter locked down as a rookie. Just look at this from Next Gen Stats.
Porter shadowed Chase on 85.7 percent of his routes run in that matchup last year with just under half of those being in press coverage. Porter only allowed two receptions on two targets for 36 yards with under a yard of separation on each of those targets.
That being said, Chase is a different animal this season. He is a game or two away from passing his 2023 stats with over a month left in the season. He is also one touchdown away from tying his career high of 13. Chase is leading the NFL in receiving yards by over 100 yards this season.
A Bengals win over the Steelers is likely going to have to run through Joe Burrow, Chase and the passing game. The spotlight is going to be on Porter for that very reason. A strong performance here could go a long way toward getting him back on track for the 2024 season.
