With Pittsburgh Steelers CB Donte Jackson out and CB Joey Porter Jr. shadowing Cincinnati Bengals WR Tee Higgins, second-year CB Cory Trice Jr. got the unenviable task of covering WR Ja’Marr Chase for much of Pittsburgh’s Week 18 game. While Trice allowed an early touchdown to Chase, who finished the game with 10 receptions for 96 yards, Trice had a generally acceptable performance. In his press conference on Monday, Mike Tomlin said he thought Trice did some nice things against the Bengals.
“I thought largely, he did some nice things. Cory’s a hard-working guy, he doesn’t have a lot of experience. It was really good experience for him, and it’s reasonable to expect him to build upon that,” Tomlin said via the team’s YouTube channel.
Trice played a career-high 69 snaps against the Bengals, and he’s seemingly overtaken James Pierre as Pittsburgh’s preferred option at outside corner behind Jackson and Porter. Chase won the wide receiver triple crown and isn’t an easy matchup for any cornerback, and it was far and away the toughest matchup of Trice’s career. He was able to limit explosive plays though, and while Chase got the ball a lot, he didn’t truly take over the game, even though things looked like it was trending that way early on.
It was certainly a performance that Trice can build on, although he might not play as much in the Wild Card round against the Ravens if Jackson is able to return from his back injury. But he can be a key piece in the secondary for the Steelers in the future, and his performance against Chase in one of the first games where he saw real significant playing time is certainly promising as he continues to develop.
While Cory Trice’s performance wasn’t terrible, Pittsburgh’s game plan was questionable. The Steelers often had Trice on an island with Chase without much safety help, and that was one of the reasons why Chase was able to score his touchdown. Pittsburgh’s defense was better and their communication was better against the Bengals, but their game plan did leave a lot to be desired with how they covered Chase.
Even if Jackson does return, Trice’s experience over the last few weeks makes the cornerback depth as a whole a little bit better because the team is at least comfortable with his level of experience if Jackson or Porter go down or need a break. Having him ready to go if needed is a benefit to the Steelers, and hopefully, Trice can continue to grow into a player who can hold down a consistent role for the Steelers down the line.
