Steelers Secondary Still Has Major Issues
PITTSBURGH — Despite squeaking out a 17-10 win over division rivals, the Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh will watch the tape and have serious concerns over how they played on the back end. But that would not be new for the Steelers, as they have struggled all year to contain receivers in the secondary before finally calling in the change and getting Joey Porter Jr. in with the starters.
That ended with Porter playing the most snaps he has all year with 28 snaps. Pro Football Focus graded Porter as the best cornerback in football this past week. That might be a little much, but it paints the picture loud and clear for the Steelers — there is little reason that the highly-touted rookie is not playing. Coming out of the bye week, Pittsburgh must see Porter playing far more. He does not line up perfectly with the rest of the group since he loves to play man coverage, but he is playing like their best cornerback.
There is a reason that the Steelers decided it was time to go heavy into their man coverage looks and get away from what they were doing in zone coverage in the first half. Pittsburgh was getting crisped up and down the field. Now, Joey Porter Jr. also steps into that vacuum for good reason. But the team is still struggling to cover receivers across the field and deep down the field. Without Porter in the game, they got negative cornerback play consistently. It’s hard to function as a defense when that happens.
Patrick Peterson, Levi Wallace, and Chandon Sullivan all struggled. Damontae Kazee and Keanu Neal played much better, but far from perfect as Mark Andrews seemed open too often. But only Ravens drops saved Pittsburgh’s secondary from another disastrous day. Porter’s heavier inclusion signals a positive move for this group, and down the stretch, they played their best football of the season. Peterson in the nickel more bodes well for his game, too. He looked more comfortable there, where they put him in spots to read, react, and make plays on the ball. It probably won’t be perfect, but this is an upgrade; now they need to continue that heading into the future.
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