Bell: Don’t Sweat Bumps in the Road for Steelers CB Joey Porter Jr.

The second half of the Steelers schedule was loaded with top offenses headlined by talented quarterbacks and we knew that this was going to be a real test to see just how stout this defensive unit really is. In the last two weeks, they’ve shut down two of the most explosive, efficient groups in the league in Washington and Baltimore, stalling out the respective Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player favorites in the process. At the very least, Pittsburgh’s defense is very good and a force to be reckoned with in the AFC. While the pass rush is the engine that makes this collection of talent roll, it’s nearly impossible to survive in the NFL without one corner that you trust on an island. Joey Porter Jr. is that guy for this team.

After his rookie season that was flushed with high points set the bar so high, it’s been difficult for the sophomore cover man to follow that up. That’s not to say that he hasn’t been good this season, but there have been some bumps in the road. Such is life for a player at this position in the league. When you’re the number one guy tasked with matching up with the opposing teams best weapon on a weekly basis in a league that is heavily slanted towards the offense from a rules perspective, it’s never going to be easy and it surely won’t always be perfect.

His performance against the Commanders in week 10 was a low point in his young career. He picked up three first-half penalties, displaying sloppy technique by continuously grabbing and not adjusting to an officiating crew that was calling the game air tight. Star wideout Terry McLaurin got the better of him in a couple key man coverage situations, occasionally even in reps where the coverage was admirable but he was beaten by the throw more than anything else. There were also a handful of impressive reps on an island that wouldn’t be properly captured by the broadcast angle. Luckily, Pittsburgh was still able to pull out the victory on the road despite a less than ideal showing from Porter.

He needed a bounce back game versus the Ravens last week and it’s safe to say that he got one in a big way. Porter traveled with Baltimore’s dynamic number one receiver Zay Flowers in the slot and more than held his own whether it was carrying him vertically on a slot fade or matching his jitterbug quickness on a slant over the middle. Lamar Jackson targeted him just three times on the afternoon, none of those were completed with two of them being broken up by Porter’s ridiculous wingspan at the catch point. Not to be overshadowed, it was also #24 that came up and made the game-saving tackle on the edge on a quarterback sweep to the perimeter on a two point conversion attempt that would have tied the ball game late in the fourth quarter.

Cornerback is one of those positions where you have to have a short memory and it was good to see the youngster recoup quickly after what was probably the worst game of his career to date. What I have found is that the expectations for corners are unusually unrealistic because this is the most volatile position in the game. Even the veteran stalwarts struggle to consistently stack weeks of elite play, much less seasons. All of this is to say that Porter is going to have some tough moments in coverage moving forward and the Commanders game won’t be the last time he struggles, but the big picture film shows that he routinely makes key contributions in making this defense function at it’s best.

When you glance around the league, there aren’t many guys being asked to shadow the enemies top threat regardless of body type or pre-snap alignment. Most longer corners are glued to the boundary because they aren’t fluid enough to hang inside where there is more space involved and you don’t have the sideline as your aid. Porter certainly excels outside where he can use his size and length to constrict space, he’s nimble enough to where he can follow guys into the slot and still take them away in a key moments. That’s pretty unique stuff.

This is a kid that’s just 24-years old and has already shown rapid improvement in his press technique since leaving Penn State. His feel for zone coverage has been better as the season has progressed with the Steelers leaning into that a bit more this season than last. Sure, he needs to clean up some of the tackling woes and there are definitely examples to point to where you’d like for him to show more urgency in that regard. This is still a player that’s trending in the right direction.

There’s some historical evidence that shows us patience is necessary, too. Ike Taylor, the reason behind Porter’s decision to don the number 24, had his fair share of rough moments, some of which came at the most untimely of times such as the 2011 Wild Card walkoff loss. But in totality, he was a very good player that the Steelers defense could depend on to compete against the best of the best on a weekly basis and was a key component of some of the best defenses of that era.

Even through the foreshadowed highs and lows, there’s no need to panic over Joey Porter Jr. He’s simply too talented with traits that are difficult to find and the tape shows how consistently he’s executing his assignment on a play by play basis. Don’t let the volatility and difficultly of the position cloud your judgement on what this kid brings to the table because his impact is significant.