The Pittsburgh Steelers may have come out on top of the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, but the defense struggled at points. QB Joe Burrow does that to defenses. However, CB Joey Porter Jr.’s struggles weren’t as expected.
Pro Football Focus graded Porter with a 32.4 overall defensive grade, largely thanks to his six penalties. It was his lowest grade ever from PFF. Defensive penalties are costly and can negate otherwise good plays.
But don’t expect Porter to change his physical play style anytime soon. Head coach Mike Tomlin wants Porter to continue to play physically against big receivers like the Bengals’ WR Tee Higgins. So does two-time Super Bowl champion QB Ben Roethlisberger. But he cautions about how it can harm the team, too.
“That’s your double-edged sword,” said Roethlisberger on Tuesday’s episode of Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger. “You like the physicality. You like how he can follow receivers. You like how he shuts guys down, but you gotta cut down on those penalties because they’re gonna bite you in the butt at some point. Now, didn’t hurt us this week… I’m chalking it up as a bad day at the office and you can have those, I’ve had ’em, um, throw multiple interceptions. It doesn’t define you as long as he doesn’t let it define him… He’s a hard worker. He’s gonna come back this week and be ready to go to prove who he is and what he is. And I think he’s an up-and-coming young lockdown cornerback in this league.”
As Roethlisberger said, you want Porter to play a physical brand of football. He has the size to match up with most of the big wide receivers in the league. So, the Steelers don’t want him to shy away from playing that style of game. Evidently, Tomlin doesn’t want him to, either.
Thankfully, it didn’t cost the Steelers the game. But Roethlisberger says that day could come. The Steelers have played nine one-score games out of 12 this season, so it’s easy to imagine a badly-timed defensive penalty being the difference in a game.
But a cornerback can’t be stuck thinking about whether he will be penalized every single snap. He has to be focused on shutting down the receiver in front of him. And that means leaning into his skillset and tools he’s been developing his entire life.
That’s the double-edged sword for Joey Porter Jr. He’s big, strong, and physical. It’s what allows him to line up against guys like Tee Higgins. His physical play also draws the attention and ire of referees. How he manages to walk that tightrope in the future will be a big part of having a long, successful career in the National Football League.
And unfortunately for Porter, when the Steelers line up against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, he’ll be working under referee Land Clark. As Alex Kozora said in that article, Joey Porter Jr. must be on his best behavior. Clark and his crew have called the most defensive pass-interference penalties this season. Steelers-Browns will be a physical battle already. No one wants it to turn into a flag fest.
