Every Pittsburgh Steelers fan knew that the team's Week 11 matchup with the Baltimore Ravens was going to be stressful. Pittsburgh has handled Baltimore as of late, but the games are always tight and down to the wire. That was the case once again on Sunday, as the game came down to a two-point conversion attempt from Baltimore. The Steelers were able to hold on for the meaningful victory, as they extended their lead in the AFC North and further cemented their case as legitimate Super Bowl contenders.
Pittsburgh won the highly-touted contest with the Ravens, but it wasn't pretty. The offense failed to find the end zone for the second time this season, and the Steelers won by kicking six field goals. The defense also held their ground for the majority of the game, as they held the number one offense in the NFL to just 16 points.
Baltimore scored a touchdown with just over a minute remaining in the game which trimmed Pittsburgh's lead to two points. Obviously the Ravens had to go for two, and Baltimore's offense lined up -- then Pittsburgh took a timeout. During that timeout, Joey Porter Jr. shared a spirited message with his teammates before they took the field for the game-deciding play, which he spoke about with the media on Tuesday.
"I just felt like something needed to be said in that moment," Porter said. "You know, we was in the situation before earlier in the year with the Cowboys with the game kind of being on us. I was like, 'We can't be in that situation and do that again.' We just had to stand up, and that's what we did."
The situation was simple. If the Ravens converted and got the two points, Pittsburgh would get the ball back with a minute remaining and attempt to drive down the field to kick a game-winning field goal. There was also the chance of overtime, but Pittsburgh's defense wanted to win the game in that moment, and they did that.
Porter stepped up and became a leader in that moment, which is impressive for a second-year player on such a star-studded defense. Pittsburgh's defense allowed the Dallas Cowboys to score a touchdown with just :20 seconds remaining to take the lead back in Week 5, and that left a bad taste in their mouth. The unit didn't want to put their team in position to lose an important divisional game.
The second-year cornerback has been taking great strides in 2024. He has turned into one of the league's best shutdown corners, and he certainly has All-Pro potential. He still struggles some with penalties due to the physicality he plays with, but there is a lot more good than bad when it comes to Porter.
Steelers' Joey Porter Jr. Shut Down The Ravens' Offense On Two-Point Attempt
The play call by Baltimore on their two-point attempt was questionable and it even seemed a bit discombobulated as the Steelers were able to shut it down relatively easily. Lamar Jackson ran outside to the left, and he almost looked like he was trying to find a receiver, but no receivers ran a route. Everyone was blocking.
It was a pair of second-year defenders for the Steelers that made the play according to analyst Dan Orlovsky. Nick Herbig crashed down and took out the pulling offensive linemen who were supposed to block the cornerback. Since those blockers were occupied by Herbig, Porter found himself untouched and was able to wrap up Jackson before he got in the end zone. Pittsburgh then got the ball back and got a first down to clinch the victory.
