Pittsburgh Steelers second-year cornerback has struggled in recent weeks, especially against top-flight wide receivers like Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and A.J. Brown.
Brown had eight receptions for 110 yards (13.8 average) and a touchdown in the Philadelphia Eagles’ 27-13 win over the Steelers on Sunday. A good portion of those yards came on Porter.
Porter ripped the officials after the game, claiming that Browns pushed off all game.
“I mean, the refs let them push off. That’s what it is on the tape. Brown is just one of those guys who you know they aren’t going to call it,” Porter said.
Despite Porter’s recent struggles, defensive coordinator Teryl Austin is not worried about his young corner.
“In this game, sometimes you’re going to win some and sometimes you’re gonna lose some. But I know with his mentality, he’s not gonna lose his confidence,” Austin said on Wednesday.
Porter was called for six penalties, four of which were accepted, in the team’s 44-38 win against the Bengals in Week 13. This isn’t Porter’s first multi-penalty game, but head coach Mike Tomlin was also not worried.
“No, no tweaks in terms of the approach,” Tomlin said when asked about if Porter needs to change how he prepares. “Certainly, he could have been better from a technical standpoint. In review of the tape, some technical things at the line of scrimmage that often times lead to circumstances down the field could be better.”
Tomlin added that his confidence in Porter has not wavered, especially given his unique relationship with the second-year cornerback.
“He’s got a serial killer’s mentality, but if you’re gonna be a top-flight corner, you better,” Tomlin said. “That’s probably one of the things I knew about him because of our personal relationship that really made me comfortable drafting him. It’s not fake. It’s real. He’s not running from the fight. He’s running to the fight. You better have a short memory at that position and he’s always had it. He was probably nine or 10 when I met him and he had it then.”
Porter is the fourth-best cornerback in the NFL at preventing separation (60.89%) this season, according to Pro Football Focus. Porter is a solid corner, but a trend is starting to grow that he doesn’t play up to par against elite receivers. The Steelers brass is confident that he’ll bounce back and learn from past mistakes, however.
