Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. had flags thrown on him for six different penalties on Sunday, getting called three times for pass interference, twice for defensive holding and once for illegal use of hands. But Steelers coach Mike Tomlin does not want Porter to stop being physical, even if penalties come with it.
Tomlin acknowledged that Porter didn’t play a perfect game on Sunday but said that Porter’s repeated contact with the Bengals’ receivers was the part of game plan against the Bengals’ offense.
“Certainly he could’ve been better from a technical standpoint,” Tomlin said. “Competing against the likes of Tee Higgins, and his style of play, I felt the same way competing with DK Metcalf last year, you have to match physicality with these big people, and sometimes you do so at risk, and that’s just a tightrope that I and he are willing to walk in order to be competitive. One thing we’re not going to do is turn it down and allow him to catch the ball. He is a challenge. When we play Shaq, we’re going to use our fouls, we’re not going to allow him to get us off the block, if you need a basketball analogy.”
Even with Porter’s physical play, the Steelers gave up 69 yards and a touchdown to Higgins, and Joe Burrow passed for 309 yards and three touchdowns. Porter did not have a great game, even if Tomlin is willing to accept the penalties as the price of facing certain receivers.
