Typically, in the NFL, if a player is the best in his unit, he starts. But, no, not with the Pittsburgh Steelers. It’s enough to make you want to bang your head on the wall.
That player is everyone’s favorite new Steeler, Joey Porter Jr., who heads into his eighth game as a pro without a start. Even though he’s shutting down receivers — while Patrick Peterson and Levi Wallace are not — his snaps have been limited.
“I thought he handled himself well,” secondary coach-turned-defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said of Porter. “He did some really good things coverage-wise. You know, it’s what we talk about every week, is the more he plays, the better he plays, the more he progresses, the more snaps he gets, then he’ll earn those snaps, and I think he earned those last week and he’ll continue to do that.”
Porter has shown patience that Mike Tomlin has preached, even if Steelers fans haven’t. “You definitely want to be out there for the first snap and hear your name called, but sometimes you’ve got to take a back seat and wait a little bit,” Porter said Thursday via TribLive’s Joe Rutter.
In limited duty (96 snaps), Porter has allowed just one 12-yard reception. On 10 targets, he’s forced three incompletions and snagged an interception for a 0.0 passer rating.
We’re all baffled as to how the Steelers are 4-2 with one of the worst offenses (31st – yards; 27th – points) AND defenses (30th – yards; 17th – points) in the NFL. While those numbers don’t tell the whole story, the secondary is the Achilles heel of the team, with the run defense in close second.
Suppose they want to get to 5-2 (and why wouldn’t they?!), the Steelers need their secondary to play better in coverage against a Jacksonville Jaguars offense that is 9th in points and 14th in yards. They have to slow Trevor Lawrence down if they have any hope of winning this one.
Getting Porter involved early and often is the key, whether he starts or not. That first start could come today, by default, if Wallace (foot) can’t go. Per Pittsburgh’s final injury report, the rookie’s status is also questionable with a calf injury, but told Steelers media on Friday that he will play.
We’ll see how things go in warm-ups and who winds up on the inactive list.
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