Getty Pittsburgh Steelers rookie cornerback Joey Porter Jr. told reporters after Week 9 that he delivered a message to head coach Mike Tomlin before the game.
Rookie cornerback Joey Porter Jr. went from seldomly playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers to shadowing one of the best wide receivers in the NFL over the past decade in about a month. But it apparently took some convincing from Porter in order to get there.
Porter explained to reporters after Pittsburgh’s 20-16 victory against the Tennessee Titans on November 2 that he requested the job of covering Titans receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
“On Tuesday, I went to Coach T and told him, ‘I want 10.’ That’s what I was looking for. I don’t really hide from nothing. I said, ‘That’s the matchup I want, that’s the matchup I need,'” Porter told the media. “He didn’t really say yes on Tuesday, He was like ‘We’re going to think about it because that’s kind of crazy.’
“But throughout the week it was, ‘Alright, we’re going to let you get 10 on some reps.’ And then throughout the game it was like, ‘You just go where 10 is at.'”
Hopkins caught 2 passes for 46 yards in the first 17 minutes of the game. But as Porter explained, he matched up more often against Hopkins later in the game.
The 3-time first-team All-Pro didn’t have a reception in the second half. Hopkins finished with 4 catches for 60 yards.
Steelers Rookie CB Joey Porter Jr. Shuts Down DeAndre Hopkins
Porter received his request to line him up against Hopkins, the most dangerous Titans receiver. According to Next Gen Stats, Porter was in coverage against Hopkins on 26 of his 36 routes.
Porter had press coverage on the 3-time All-Pro on 20 of those routes.
Titans quarterback Will Levis targeted Hopkins just 5 times on those routes. He caught 1 of them for 17 yards.
Holding Hopkins to 1 reception is impressive. But the fact Levis only targeted Hopkins five times when Porter was in coverage against him was just as good.
Levis targeted the 3-time All-Pro 6 times when Porter wasn’t in coverage against him.
With Porter blanketing Hopkins, Levis had to find other wideouts. Receiver Kyle Phillips led the Titans with 68 receiving yards. Fellow wideout Chris Moore made a catch on the final drive when Tennessee was driving for the game-winning score.
But it wasn’t enough, as the Steelers defense held during the final possession.
Porter’s great performance against Hopkins came just four days after he had 3 touchdown catches against the Atlanta Falcons.
On October 1 against the Houston Texans, Porter played just 10 defensive snaps. He lined up for 70 defensive snaps on November 2.
Mike Tomlin Calls for Defense to Fix Penalties
While Porter was terrific in Week 9, there are still things for him to improve.
Tomlin voiced his displeasure during his postgame press conference with Pittsburgh’s season-high 10 penalties against the Titans. Porter committed 3 of them.
“I thought we did a good job,” Tomlin said. “But I just thought the penalties were catastrophic to our defensive efforts. It really was.”
On a single play in the first quarter, Porter had 2 fouls, one of which didn’t count as one of his three penalties in the game because only one penalty can be accepted on one play.
Porter acknowledged that he must continue to work to get better.
“I just gotta keep working, keep grinding. Some rookies always hit that high ceiling and then it’s the rookie slump,” Porter said. So I just gotta keep working. Like I said before, just chop wood, carry water, and just look forward to next week.”
Despite the penalties, Porter’s performance should be encouraging for the Steelers. It’s been a long time since the Pittsburgh defense had a young No. 1 cornerback. Porter appears on his way to becoming that type of defender.
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Steelers’ Joey Porter Jr. Sent Message to Mike Tomlin Ahead of Week 9