Teryl Austin had one word to describe the play rookie cornerback Joey Porter Jr. made on the final Pittsburgh Steelers defensive snap of Monday night’s game.
“Outstanding,” Austin said, adding a laugh.
After all, on face value, preventing the Cleveland Browns’ Donovan Peoples-Jones from securing a first-down catch on a fourth-and-9 play from near midfield sealed a 26-22 Steelers victory.
“Got the stop,” Austin said, “and got the win.”
Of course, a more subjective look at the play — particularly via slow-motion replay — suggests Porter perhaps could have been flagged for pass interference on the sequence along the right sideline about 20 yards downfield.
Austin, though, correctly points out that such hypotheticals don’t exist — the officials did not call a penalty, so therefore, it was not a penalty.
“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.”
???????????????? ???????? ????????????????????: This pass breakup by #Steelers CB Joey Porter Jr should’ve been called pass interference. pic.twitter.com/vTm4FbwCTF
— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) September 19, 2023
So, chalk it up to a savvy, veteran-like play for Porter, who was playing his 21st defensive snap as a pro. The No. 32 overall pick out of North Allegheny and Penn State, Porter has been limited to spot usage so far two games into his career. And while some fans — some of whom point to the game-clinching play as proof — clamor for a bigger role for Porter, Austin did not make it sound as if any sort of depth-chart change is imminent.
“We’ll continue to see if he can continue to do things well,” Austin said. “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.”
For what it’s worth, according to Pro Football Focus, Porter has been in coverage for all 21 of his snaps and has been targeted twice. Neither was completed. In his small sample size, Porter grades higher than any of the other Steelers’ cornerbacks — starters on the outside Patrick Peterson and Levi Wallace and No. 1 slot/nickel Chandon Sullivan.
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