The Pittsburgh Steelers lost to the Green Bay Packers Sunday night, 35-25. Pittsburgh’s defense looked atrocious as they allowed 360 yards through the air and 94 on the ground. CB Joey Porter Jr. had three total tackles in the game. Although he had a decent game in coverage, Porter struggled mightily as a tackler in this contest. Our very own Josh Carney highlighted this in his post-game positional grades. Now, let’s take a deeper dive into the film.
THE FILM
When you watch the game tape, Porter started out playing just fine. The first time he was targeted on the night, he came up with a nice pass breakup, as you can see in the clip below. He managed to stay in WR Romeo Doubs’ hip pocket and got his hands in the way to keep Doubs from reeling in the pass.
Porter managed to keep Doubs from catching another deep ball later in the contest in this next clip. He ran with the intended target up the sideline, and the two tripped over each other as they turned back, attempting to locate the football.
Porter was slow coming off the snap and gave up quick separation to Doubs from the start, relying on his length to catch back up. A flag wasn’t thrown on this play, as both guys were jostling for position downfield. The pass was deemed uncatchable.
What was really concerning regarding Porter’s performance was his poor tackling. It wasn’t just his technique as a tackler, but also his desire and demeanor to hit someone in a contact sport.
Watch the clip below where Porter gives Doubs plenty of separation playing deep coverage for the reception underneath. But, he then stares down the receiver and doesn’t quickly redirect as a pursuit defender. He watches as the rest of the defense rallies to the ball while the play is made right by his feet.
What was probably the worst play against Porter all night came on this long catch-and-run by TE Tucker Kraft. Kraft had his way with the Steelers’ defense in this contest, being a YAC threat that no one wanted to tackle.
Watch as Kraft makes the catch and turns upfield with Porter closing ground. Porter overruns Kraft and reaches out with his long arms in an attempt to drag the 260-pound Kraft to the ground. Kraft easily breaks the arm tackle by Porter and chugs along down the field for an extra 15 yards before he is gang tackled. Like earlier, Porter watched the collision.
Porter had another crack at Kraft later in the game on this clip. Green Bay was knocking on the door inside the red zone as Kraft caught the pass in the flat. Porter got his eyes caught on the screen as the man closest to the boundary to defend Kraft, but Kraft caught the ball and got a running head start. Porter caught up to meet him along the sideline, diving at Kraft’s leg to force him out of bounds. But Kraft kept his feet and nearly managed to stay in-bounds with his eyes on the end zone.
Porter has good timed speed dating back to the 4.46 he ran at the NFL Combine. He looked slow during Sunday night’s contest, routinely grabbing onto opposing receivers as he’s become accustomed to during his time in the league.
When he wasn’t clearly holding receivers, he was exposing himself to potential separation. This rep against Christian Watson on a deep comeback route toward the sideline was a perfect example. Porter was slow to click-and-close on the football as Watson made the grab for the first down.
What stood out on Sunday night from Porter in coverage was the blown two-point conversion Pittsburgh gave to Green Bay. In this clip below, he and CB Jalen Ramsey have the combination of Watson and Doubs stacked on the goal line. Ramsey runs with Watson as the deeper man, but Porter gets caught attempting to pass Watson to Ramsey, leaving Doubs wide open for the easiest catch of his career in the end zone.
Joey. Porter Jr. didn’t let up a ton of yards or have many penalties in this matchup, but he looked severely disinterested in any aspect of the game that wasn’t running with his man in coverage. He tackled poorly in the attempts he had. He looked allergic to contact in the opportunities that he had to get in on the mix. Porter showed poor pursuit and aggressiveness to bring the ball carrier down to the ground.
The loss of DeShon Elliott hurts even more for Pittsburgh’s defense because they are losing the one player who plays with that fire in pursuit and tackling on every single snap. Porter doesn’t have that right now, a far cry from the physical player his father was at outside linebacker two decades ago.
With a contract year coming up for Joey Porter Jr. next season, his recent performances aren’t giving Pittsburgh much confidence that he can operate as a true CB1 in the league from a pass coverage and run support perspective. He may get a big contract due to legacy and family ties to the organization, but based on the tape right now, he needs to play with a lot more fire and heart to deserve it.
