Steelers' Joey Porter Jr. Anticipated Being Targeted By The Baltimore Ravens Against Odell Beckham Jr.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have slowly been acclimating rookie Joey Porter Jr. into playing full-time. It is common for Pittsburgh to kind of ease the rookies into gameplay, versus throwing them to the wolves as some other teams do. Porter is no exception. He has gradually increased his snap count each game. After making a critical play during Week 5 against the Baltimore Ravens, Porter told the media that he felt ready to help his team and expected Baltimore to target him.

It seems that nearly every time Porter has been on the field, he has a positive impact and the game against the Ravens was no exception. After rising to a challenge posed by Head Coach Mike Tomlin, Porter went out and intercepted Baltimore's quarterback, Lamar Jackson. 

Porter was lined up across from a true generational talent in Odell Beckham Jr. and the Ravens smelled blood in the water. However, while Porter might be young, his pedigree gives him an edge over other rookies, with an exceptional football IQ. As the son of former Steelers legendary linebacker, Joey Porter Sr., the young cornerback has a ton of football smarts. He knew they would try to take advantage of what they perceived as a mismatch, based on his comments captured by Christopher Carter after the game. 

"I'm the rookie out there against Odell Beckham on the third down. I already kind of had that in the back of my mind - they were gonna try me on that play."

This gave Porter his first professional interception in a regular season game (he did have one in the preseason). It has also helped to show some of Porter's critics that he is capable of making those big plays. That was a concern based on his performance while playing at Penn State, as he had only one interception in his four seasons in Happy Valley. 

Porter told the media he was thrilled to be able to come through for his team during a critical moment in the game. He made a huge play that altered the trajectory of the game. Porter also said that he now feels like he is really a part of this storied rivalry between the Steelers and the Ravens and it was thrilling. 

"It means everything. Earlier this week we talked about how this is a regular season game, but it's not like a regular season. When we get in that stadium, it's gonna be a chippy, close game and I just made a great play at a great time."

Porter has played 86 total snaps, gradually working his way up from 7 during Week 1 to 28 during Week 5. He uses his incredibly long body to beat out receivers and to bat the play away, or in the case of Beckham, to intercept it. This play helped to give the Steelers a bit of life since their offense had been stagnant most of the game. 

After the interception, Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett picked up that momentum and was able to drive down the field with an 8-play, 80-yard drive which led to a huge 41-yard touchdown catch by George Pickens. As the defense improved in the second half, Porter provided the spark of life that got Pittsburgh back in the game. 

"Definitely the defense was rolling for the whole second half of the game, so the fact that I made that little game stop right there, it was perfect, it was a nice way to go out."

After the interception, Porter ran to the sideline to celebrate with his teammates. Gunner Olszewski, who was only in the game because Calvin Austin III had to get checked for a concussion, told him he had a thank-you gift for him. Olszewski was the reason that Porter was even in the position to get the interception. After being careless with the ball on a punt return, Olszewski lost the ball, giving the Ravens ideal field position until Porter blew up their plans.  

Steelers' Joey Porter Jr. Seems To Be Doing Everything Right

The Steelers have been struggling during the initial part of the season and currently stand at 3-2 with losses coming in Week 1 to the San Francisco 49ers and in Week 4 to the Houston Texans. The wins the team has had has not been pretty. The offense can thank the defense for the Week 2 win over the Cleveland Browns, with both T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith scoring touchdowns. 

The Week 3 game against the Las Vegas Raiders gave the impression that the offense was headed in the right direction, albeit slowly. Unfortunately, the first half of the Ravens game looked as bad as they did during their earlier losses. The run game was unable to take solid footing and the secondary was struggling to stop the Ravens. This allowed them to quickly get up 10-0 on the Steelers. 

Fortunately for Pittsburgh, the Ravens had a bad case of the drops and lost several of the catches that were made. The defense definitely tightened up in the second half, but Porter's interception helped seal the win. 

The Steelers will continue to be faced with a decision to make regarding the amount of playing time Porter gets. Patrick Peterson and Levi Wallace, the starting cornerbacks, have not been playing consistently so far in 2023. While Pro Football Focus is not the holy grail of player information, it does provide a benchmark by which to compare. Peterson, who is taking the majority of defensive snaps is graded as 58.7, Wallace is even worse at 49.3. It is difficult to compare the three of them fully since Porter is playing way fewer snaps than the other two, however, his PFF score is 81.9. 

What do you think about Porter's gameplay thus far this season? Do you think he should be playing more? Click to comment below. 

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