Just when things looked a bit bleak following a late Baltimore Ravens touchdown to make it an 18-16 game, setting up a pivotal 2-point try, one of the quieter players on the defense of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense made his voice heard.
According to veteran linebacker Patrick Queen, second-year cornerback Joey Porter Jr. spoke up during the timeout ahead of the 2-point try, emphasizing that the Ravens were not going to convert it.
Practicing what he preached, Porter made the play on the perimeter against Ravens QB Lamar Jackson, keeping it an 18-16 game in favor of the Steelers, which would ultimately hold up as the final score.
It’s ironic that Porter is one of the quieter players on the star-studded defense, considering his father was one of the loudest and an elite trash-talker during his days in the NFL. So, when Porter spoke up late in the fourth quarter Sunday against the Ravens, his words carried weight and gave the defense confidence, according to Queen.
“We just understood like, ‘Everybody just do their job. We ain’t gotta do nothing spectacular, just go out there and just get a play and make a stop,’ and Joey, who usually be the most quiet one, was sitting there like, ‘We stopping them. They not scoring this two-point conversion.'” Queen said, according to video via the Steelers’ YouTube page. “So, that was huge and hearing him actually gave everybody some confidence to go out there and get that stop.”
Prior to the timeout, it appeared that the Ravens had a good call on for their 2-point try, which appeared to feature a jump pass from Lamar Jackson near the line of scrimmage. Fortunately, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin called timeout before the ball could be snapped after seeing the Ravens’ formation.
That allowed the defense to catch its breath, regroup after the touchdown and hear Porter’s message, resulting in the stop on the ensuing play.
It was a designed QB run for Jackson to the left side. Second-year outside linebacker Nick Herbig blew up the play initially, cutting inside on the block from wide receiver Nelson Agholor to slow Jackson just a bit. That allowed Porter to get wide and make the play in space, stopping Jackson on the run to keep it an 18-16 game.
It’s great to hear Porter made his voice heard and gave the defense confidence in that moment to get the stop. It was a pivotal moment in the game, and the second-year pro having the comfort and confidence to speak up in that defensive huddle is awesome to see.
Heck of a play to back up his talk, too.
