The Pittsburgh Steelers had a hard time covering Cincinnati Bengals wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. But the officiating in the game had something to do with that. At least, that’s what Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. implied while speaking to reporters following the game.
Porter didn’t outright disagree with the officiating and blame the referees for the Steelers loss. The Bengals defeated the Steelers 33-31 on Thursday.
But Porter implied the officials were too quick to throw a flag in favor of the Bengals wideouts.
“We’ve got the guys to do it [cover the Bengals]; they’ve just got to let us play,” said Porter.
“I wasn’t a big fan of the calls with the officiating, but it is what it is. It’s football.”
The officials in Week 7 called Porter for defensive pass interference twice. The first call came in the first quarter when Porter was in coverage on Chase.
The second pass interference call on Porter was when he was covering Higgins just before halftime. That led to a late Cincinnati field goal.
Overall, the Steelers committed seven penalties for 59 yards. The Bengals had four fouls for 35 yards.
Joey Porter Jr. Calls Out Officiating vs. Bengals
It’s tough enough trying to slow down the Bengals elite pass-catchers. When they are getting help from the officials, it’s nearly impossible.
Of course, it likely greatly depends on one’s perspective whether or not the Bengals were getting “help” from the officials. Cincinnati would probably disagree with Porter and say the calls against the Steelers secondary were clearly penalties.
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