Joey Porter Jr. might want to be a little more careful next time he talks about Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
The Steelers cornerback recently brushed off the Bengals’ star receivers, saying, “I feel like I have a good indication on those guys and what they like to do. I never really struggled against them. It’s always been fun for me getting out there with them,” Porter told the media on Thursday.
The numbers, though, tell a different story.
Since Porter entered the league in 2023 and moved into a starting role, Cincinnati’s receiver tandem has consistently put up production against Pittsburgh when he’s on the field. Chase has played five games against the Steelers’ defense with Porter in the secondary and posted 39 catches for 454 yards and three touchdowns. That works out to 7.8 receptions, 90.8 yards and 0.6 touchdowns per game.
Higgins has been right there with him. In five games against Porter, he’s logged 23 receptions for 421 yards and four touchdowns, or 4.6 catches, 84.2 yards and 0.8 touchdowns per game.
Put them together, and the Bengals duo has totaled 62 catches, 875 yards and seven touchdowns in those matchups.
Porter wasn’t on the wrong side of every play in those games. He had his best outing against Cincinnati on November 16 last year in Week 11 of the 2025 season, when he posted a 74.2 overall grade and a 77.4 coverage grade with no penalties. But the full picture is tougher to sell as a win for the Steelers corner.
Across his six games against the Bengals, Porter’s PFF grades were uneven: 65.6 overall and 65.2 in coverage on 11/26/2023, 54.0 and 57.2 on 12/23/2023, 32.4 and 34.7 on 12/01/2024, 69.3 and 68.8 on 1/04/2025, 50.9 and 51.5 on 10/16/2025, and that strong 74.2 and 77.4 showing on 11/16/2025. He also drew penalties in four of those six games.
The quarterback matchup makes the whole thing even harder to frame as a fair fight. Porter’s six regular-season games against Cincinnati since 2023 came against Jake Browning twice, Joe Burrow twice and Joe Flacco twice.
In his first meeting with Burrow, Chase was out with an injury, but Higgins still went off for 140 yards and a touchdown. In Porter’s other game against the Bengals with Burrow at quarterback, Chase and Higgins combined to catch 14 of 19 targets for 149 yards and a touchdown.
Porter was healthy for all six of those regular-season meetings, but Chase and Higgins were not. Each missed a full game, which means the totals could have been even worse for Pittsburgh.
None of that means Porter is a bad corner. It does mean his claim that he has “never really struggled” against Chase and Higgins doesn’t hold up against the evidence. The Steelers have had a hard time slowing those two down with Porter on the field, and the stat sheet makes that clear.
In Other News...
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For now, Brock Hoffman is the only fully healthy guard on the roster, which makes the upcoming matchup with Cincinnati a little more complicated than the Steelers likely wanted. Even with Anderson on the field, the groups availability is suddenly a real storyline heading into a divisional game, and Pittsburgh will be watching closely to see how much it can trust its interior options when the game plan starts to take shape. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Backfield Decision Just Got A Lot More Serious Before Bengals
The Steelers backfield picture got a little murkier this week with Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle both limited or missing practice because of injuries, leaving Pittsburgh with fewer clean answers as it prepares for Cincinnati. It is the kind of late-week development that can change how an offense is built, especially when the running game already has to absorb the ripple effects of a crowded injury report.
Pittsburgh has other players showing up as limited or absent, but the running back situation is the one demanding the most attention heading into the Bengals game. Depending on Dowdles availability, the Steelers may need to turn to the practice squad to add depth at the position, which would make Fridays final injury updates especially important. [Read more 🡒]
Joey Porter Jr. Just Gave Steelers Fans New Reason For Hope
Joey Porter Jr. finally spoke publicly about where he stands with the Steelers for the first time since the regular season began, and the message was encouraging for a defense that could use some stability. The cornerback said he wants to get back on the field once his back injury heals, while also making clear he still feels good about his teammates and remains open to playing for Pittsburgh again after the sides failed to strike a contract agreement before Week 1.
What stood out just as much was the change in Porters demeanor compared with earlier in the season. The article doesnt pin down exactly what prompted it, but the tone was noticeably different, and for Steelers fans that alone counts as a small dose of hope as they wait to see when he can return and whether the situation around him settles down with it. [Read more 🡒]