Joey Porter Jr. wasted no time making his presence felt in a Dallas Cowboys uniform.
In his first game with the Cowboys, the cornerback played Sunday in the win over the Houston Texans and handled a limited workload after sitting out the first three games with a supposed back injury that magically healed up when he arrived in Dallas after being traded by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Porter was active and available for the Week 4 matchup, and Dallas used him for 24 of a possible 52 defensive snaps. He didn’t fill up the stat sheet, finishing without a tackle, but the numbers that mattered told the story. According to Next Gen Stats, he was targeted once in 19 coverage snaps and did not allow a completion.
The Texans clearly didn’t want to test him much at all. Porter lined up against Houston’s No. 1 wide receiver, Nico Collins, five times and wasn’t targeted on any of those snaps.
That kind of treatment says plenty about the respect Porter already commands. It also shifted the burden onto Dallas’ other corners, and that’s where the day got messy.
DaRon Bland was tied for the team lead with six targets and allowed five catches for 104 yards, both of which ranked tied for the most and the most on the team, respectively. Reddy Stewart, working in the slot with Caleb Downs operating mostly at safety because of injuries at the position, gave up three receptions on four targets for 48 yards. All three catches came on the same drive.
Shavon Revel and Ameer Speed weren’t targeted. Revel played only seven snaps, while Speed was on the field for 23.
For Dallas, the encouraging part is obvious: Porter’s role should only grow from here. As his snap count climbs, the Cowboys should be able to lean less on the rest of that cornerback group.
Bland’s place in the lineup looks shakier after another rough outing, and once Cobie Durant returns from injury, he should be the one starting opposite Porter, though that may not be possible because the Cowboys might need him in the slot with Caleb Downs at safety because of injuries at the position.
For now, though, Porter’s debut was exactly what Dallas had in mind. He shut down his side of the field and gave the Cowboys the kind of cornerback presence they were looking for.
Dallas will hope he can handle a full workload in Week 5, when the Cowboys face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night.
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Dak Prescott Suddenly Gives Cowboys Fans A Short-Week Concern
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