Joey Porter Jr. had a great rookie year in 2023. He had 10 passes defended and snagged his first career interception. Heading into his second year, Porter had high expectations for obvious reasons. He certainly isn’t playing poorly. Still, there is one issue that’s popping up. Porter has had 10 accepted penalties against him this year, the highest total on the team.
Porter is a physical corner, so it’s a little understandable that he might see more penalties than other defensive backs. While that’s been a problem for Porter in his sophomore season, Mike Tomlin wants him to keep his confidence up, and has told the cornerback to keep his style of play consistent, no matter what the officials think. Porter shared Tomlin’s wisdom on WTAE with Ashley Liouts in an interview airing Saturday.
“Coach [Tomlin] has been a great guy in my corner since I’ve known him,” Porter told Liouts. “He just always tells me ‘we’re not worried about the flags.’ There’s stuff we could clean up, but at the end of the day, he’s not trying to let me lose my sting and my confidence, and I’m not gonna let those little penalties affect my gameplay…I’m not trying to really overthink it too much. I know it’s something to need to work and clean up on, but I’m not gonna let that alter my style.”
Although he’s fell victim to the wrath of the league’s officials this year, Porter has still flashed quality performances. He has one interception and six passes defended. Those numbers don’t jump off the page, but the advanced stats help his case. Porter is allowing just a 81.5 passer rating when targeted, and has yet to allow a receiving touchdown. However, he is allowing a higher completion percentage. Porter’s allowing 62-percent of the balls thrown his way to be completed, up from the 47.6-percent from his rookie year.
Saturday’s matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals will be a tough test for Porter. He had a brutal showing in the team’s first matchup. Although Pittsburgh came away with the win, Porter was flagged six times, and was even flagged twice on one play.
Cincinnati is one of the hardest teams to face as a defensive back. They’ve got a terrific quarterback in the midst of an MVP-caliber season, and several play-makers around him. It’s a tough test for Porter, and it’s one he failed earlier this year. Given the defense’s performance as a whole over the last three weeks, it’s crucial for Porter to play well, and play confident on Saturday night.
