With three penalties, Pittsburgh Steelers CB Joey Porter Jr. got handsy like a prom date in their win over the Washington Commanders last Sunday. His coaches view it as a bug, not the feature. And defensive coordinator Teryl Austin believes it’s an issue he’ll correct.
“He’s gotten better at that,” Austin told reporters Thursday of Porter avoiding flags via a team transcript. “Last week was just not a good week for it. I anticipate that he’ll bounce back and play clean football because he’s been doing a pretty good job of that. Earlier in the year he had a few, and last week it popped up again. I think he’ll be fine. He works at it, so I’m not overly concerned right now.”
It’s the same thing head coach Mike Tomlin echoed when asked about Porter Tuesday during his weekly press conference
Porter was flagged three times against Washington. Twice for pass interference and a third for facemask against a receiver as he was releasing off the line. All proved costly. Two came on the Commanders’ final drive of the half, helping them reach the end zone before doing the same on the opening possession of the third quarter. A double dip that often becomes the catalyst to teams winning. It put the Steelers in a hole they ultimately climbed out of, winning 28-27, but it’s not a model they can sustain.
Ditto with Porter’s flags. Like celebrity deaths, they’ve come in threes. He was flagged thrice against the Denver Broncos in Week 2 with a similar rap sheet. Two defensive holding calls (one of which was declined) and illegal hands to the face. When he wasn’t being flagged in the Commanders game, he was giving up catches. Our charting had him giving up four catches on five targets for 54 yards.
To his credit and to Austin’s points, the rest of the season has been clean. Between Weeks 3 and 8, Porter was flagged just once, called for pass interference against the Indianapolis Colts. Now, it’s just avoiding stacking flag after flag that puts the Steelers’ defense at a severe advantage.
His penalties were unnecessary. There are instances where a corner gets beat and takes the penalty to prevent allowing an even bigger play. That wasn’t the case with Porter. He had good positioning on all of them, including a goal-line fade where he mugged the receiver before he could even start his route.
For a big and long corner like Porter, there’s always a fine line to walk. Wanting to play to his strengths without crossing a line. There’s still work to do. But as ugly as last weekend was, Porter’s shown he can play penalty-free for long periods of time. It’s why the Steelers have confidence this is a blip, not a habit.
