Whenever the Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Cleveland Browns, the games can usually be summed up in one word: ugly. Unsurprisingly that was exactly what fans witnessed on Monday night at Acrisure Stadium as the Steelers beat the Browns in a traditional AFC North bloodbath, 26-22.
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Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt returns a strip sack recorded by Alex Highsmith in the fourth quarter to give the Steelers the lead in their matchup against the Cleveland Browns on Monday Night Football.
The offense looked a lot like they did in Week 1 against the San Francisco 49ers, struggling to find any sort of rhythm and for the second week in a row, only mustering up one touchdown. Most of the focus in the postgame was on the offense and the difficulty they've endured in the first two weeks of the season. That overshadowed one of the more impressive defensive performances fans have seen from the Steelers in quite some time.
T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith were the focal points of the defense in the Week 2 victory and showed why they both are some of the highest-paid edge rushers in the NFL. On the first play from the line of scrimmage, Highsmith intercepted a pass from Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson and ran it back for his first career touchdown in the NFL.
The big play fireworks didn't stop there. Highsmith also made one of the key plays in the fourth quarter when he sacked Watson deep in the Browns' territory which forced a fumble that Watt recovered and ran back for a touchdown, ultimately giving the Steelers the victory over their divisional rival.
Thanks to the splash plays from the defense, some players' lackluster performances were overlooked. Specifically, Levi Wallace struggled all night to cover the Browns' top wide receiving target, Amari Cooper. Not only did Wallace have his hands full with Cooper, but he also lost contain on a run from Jerome Ford which would have ended up as a touchdown if it wasn't for a tackle on the 1-yard line by Steelers safety, Minkah Fitzpatrick.
However, one cornerback did turn some heads on Monday night and it is likely we will see his role expand over the upcoming weeks if his performance continues to impress. Steelers rookie cornerback, Joey Porter Jr. showed fans why the front office selected him with the 32nd overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
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Steelers rookie cornerback Joey Porter Jr. celebrates with his teammates after breaking up Deshaun Watson's fourth-down pass to seal the Steelers' 26-22 victory over the Cleveland Browns.
Porter made a handful of plays, but none was more significant than the Browns' final offensive play of the game where he covered Browns wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones and ultimately broke up the pass to seal the Steelers' four-point victory.
The play by Porter Jr. could very well have drawn a flag for pass interference, but no penalty was called by the officials. Steelers Defensive Coordinator Teryl Austin gave his thoughts on the final play by Porter Jr.
"I know everybody talked about it. Like those are two guys, they’re both jostling. The rules in the NFL are, obviously if one guy’s just running, the other guy is just draped all over him, obviously that’s interference. But if they’re both hand fighting for the ball a lot of times that is not called, and we know it."
Austin also gave his thoughts on his rookie cornerback's overall performance and what the future might hold for him over the course of the next few weeks of the season.
"We’ll continue to see if he can continue to do things well. There’s a possibility of expanding his role, but like we said, that’s kind of all the same things we’ve talked about all year. As he gets better and gets more snaps, if he earns it, then we’ll give him more reps."
Steelers Have Yet To Activate Desmond King II In The First Two Weeks Of The Season
It is hard to tell exactly what Porter Jr.'s role will look like over the next few weeks, especially since the Steelers have yet to dress Desmond King II who they signed after he was cut by the Houston Texans prior to the start of the season.
With Porter Jr. still in the dime package currently, it will be interesting to see how the team moves forward once King gets put into the rotation.
Eventually, the hope would be to have Porter Jr. as the defense's number-one cornerback, but it sounds like the Steelers and the coaching staff are going to be patient in making that move for the time being.
What do you think? Should the Steelers expand the role of Porter Jr. already, or keep him at the minimal snap count like they have been in the first two weeks of the season? If you were defensive coordinator, what move would you make? Tell us your thoughts in the comment section below!
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