Week 13 gave Pittsburgh Steelers fans a lot to be thankful for but not everything was so positive. Joey Porter Jr. had an incredibly ugly game. He was called for six penalties, four of which were accepted. It was brutal from start to finish. This isn’t the first time Porter has had issues with penalties either. However, he doesn’t necessarily agree with all of the calls the refs made on him Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.
“I’m mad at it,” Porter said after the Steelers’ 44-38 win via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s YouTube channel. “I’m trying to be great at the end of the day and those flags kind of get in the way. But like Coach [Mike Tomlin] always says, if he’s not tripping and my team’s not mad about it, then I just gotta keep playing and doing my job. I feel like at this point they’re trying to alter my play, but I’m not really worried about that.”
Porter’s point is a tricky line to walk. Referees were quick to throw flags against him in Week 13, but not all of them were questionable calls. Some of the penalties were more than likely the right call.
Porter’s style of play invites those penalties as well. He’s an extremely physical player, which is both a positive and a negative. It helps because it allows him to smother opposing wide receivers. It can also hurt in games like the one at Paycor Stadium as Porter very often gave the Bengals better field position.
The referees did seem like they were going to be lenient when the game began. Bengals corner Cam Taylor-Britt scored the first touchdown of the day on an interception return. However, he probably should’ve been called for a penalty on that play. That probably adds to Porter’s frustration.
The first pass-interference call on Porter was probably bogus too. He did essentially tackle the receiver while the ball was in the air, but it seemed like an uncatchable pass. There’s a good argument to be made that he shouldn’t have been flagged on that play.
However, he was, and it led to a touchdown for the Bengals. Not every call helped prove Porter’s point either. Some of the other penalties called against him were fairer. He was getting handsy against the Bengals, and the referees weren’t letting him get away with much.
Porter was asked if he feels like the referees are treating him differently than other defensive backs.
“Definitely. Some of those calls, I feel like I’m not doing nothing the average [defensive back is] doing,” he said. “I got that target on my back and clearly, I just gotta keep working.”
At this point, Porter might receive some extra attention just because he has a reputation of being physical. It’s unfortunate, but that’s the way the league works sometimes. It doesn’t mean Porter is a bad player. He just needs to cut back on some of the more blatant stuff.
Going forward, we’ll see if Porter is correct about referees targeting him. Including this game, he’s only really had two performances this year where he hurt the team more than he helped it. Maybe he’ll have more problems with referees going forward, but it’s tough to say.
One thing that is certain is that Porter will want to move on from this game. It’s probably his worst game of the year, and down the stretch, he can’t have as many issues. Not all of it is his fault, but he should share some of the blame. Hopefully he bounces back next week.
