CINCINNATI — Does Joey Porter Jr. have a metaphorical target on his back in the eyes of officials? If so, the bull’s-eye was hit several times on Sunday.
By yellow flags.
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ No. 1 cornerback, Porter was flagged six times with four accepted penalties during his team’s 44-38 victory against the Cincinnati Bengals. Porter has had that reputation since before he even entered the league as a second-round pick in 2023, and at this point Porter believes he might be getting singled out by officials.
“I feel like at this point that they’re trying to alter my play,” Porter said after Sunday’s game, “but I’m not really worried about that.”
Sunday alone, Porter twice was cited for defensive holding, three times for pass interference and once for illegal use of hands. (On one third-and-10 play during the forth quarter, he was flagged for both holding and DPI).
Twice, penalties on Porter helped set up Cincinnati touchdowns, and one that was declined came during a play in which the Bengals scored one.
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Three of the five sequences that draw flags on the 6-foot-2, 193-pound Porter were when he was in coverage against 6-4, 219-pound Tee Higgins; two others when Pickens was on Andrei Iosivas.
“Tee Higgins has a lot to do with that, man,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said of Porter’s fouls Sunday. “Tee is a goon. He is. You can’t let him beat you up — while at the same time, the officials are going to call it the way they’re going to call it. So, sometimes I kind of absorb some of what comes with that.
“You cannot let a big dude like that beat you up. You have to match the fire with the fire. You hope that you do it clean enough that doesn’t draw a bunch of penalties. We weren’t successful in that regard today. We’ll keep working, but one thing we’re not going to do is let that guy goon us.”
According to nflpenalties.com, Porter has been flagged 26 times with 17 accepted in 29 career NFL games. That includes 14 flags with nine accepted penalties in 12 games this season. He has been penalized nine times in his career for pass interference and on five occasions for holding.
“I’m mad at it,” Porter said of his fouls. “I’m trying to be great at the end of the day, and those flags kind of get in the way. But like ‘Coach T’ always says, if he’s not trippin’ and my team’s not mad about it, then I just gotta keep playing and doing my job.”
