All-Pro wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase essentially did whatever he wanted for the Cincinnati Bengals passing attack during Week 7 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The rematch on Sunday, though, was quite different for Joey Porter Jr. and the Steelers defense.
Porter and the rest of the team’s secondary held Chase to 30 receiving yards on just three catches. Chase posted those pedestrian numbers despite getting a team-high 10 targets.
After the game, Porter threw some significant shade toward the Bengals top receiver while speaking to the media.
“Yeah, I mean, we knew what they were gonna do this time, I guess,” said Porter, via TribLive.com’s Chris Adamski.
The line from Porter was a reference to one of Chase’s answers to the media after he had 16 catches, 161 yards and a touchdown on October 16.
“They did exactly what we was expecting and hoping they’d do,” said Chase following the Bengals’ Week 7 win versus Pittsburgh.
“We knew they were going to put Joey [Porter Jr.] on Tee [Higgins] and Jalen [Ramsey] on me,” Chase continued. “We knew that, we were ready for it, and we were going to take advantage of those opportunities.”
Steelers’ Joey Porter Jr. Helps Shut Down Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase
Head coach Mike Tomlin argued during his postgame press conference that the team didn’t make major changes to its defensive philosophy from the Week 7 drubbing in Cincinnati. However, there was one pretty significant difference between the two Bengals game plans for Pittsburgh.
Since Week 7, All-Pro Jalen Ramsey has switched to playing free safety on a full-time basis. Furthermore, Pittsburgh’s other veteran cornerback, Darius Slay, was sidelined with a concussion Sunday. That left Porter to defend Chase the most often in one-on-one situations.
Porter excelled, holding Chase in check while not committing a single penalty.
“Pittsburgh matched up Porter on Chase plenty in this game, especially with Ramsey shifting to free safety in the Weeks since that first meeting,” Steelers Depot’s Alex Kozora wrote. “The results were much improved.
“Porter was sticky in coverage, and the Steelers appeared to play more zone coverage while offering the cornerbacks more help over the top.”
Porter had two defensive pass interference fouls in the first meeting with Cincinnati this season.
Steelers Avoid Season Sweep vs. Bengals
With a 34-12 victory during Week 11, the Steelers accomplished two goals — they remained in first place of the AFC North. The Steelers also avoided the embarrassment of suffering a season sweep against the Joe Burrow-less Bengals, who entered Sunday with only three wins.
Cincinnati last swept the Steelers in 2021. However, the Steelers haven’t suffered two losses to the Bengals in the same season when Burrow wasn’t their quarterback since 2009.
The Baltimore Ravens also won Sunday. The Ravens have now won four straight to climb back to the .500 mark.
But thanks in large part to Porter slowing down Chase, the Steelers continue to have sole possession of first place in their division.
Porter finished Sunday with three tackles and one pass defense. The third-year defensive back has 25 combined tackles, 11 pass defenses, one sack and one interception in seven contests this season.
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