A brash Joey Porter Jr asked to cover DeAndre Hopkins, then shut him down

suzhalliburton

joey porter steelers — Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

You have to admit, this was a pretty brash request from a rookie cornerback. Joey Porter Jr asked Steelers coaches if he could cover DeAndre Hopkins.

And yes, that was Porter, who was starting only his second-ever NFL game, shutting down Hopkins for much of the seconnd half. Sure, you can credit Kenny Pickett and Diontae Johnson for the game-winning touchdown. And give some props to Kwon Alexander for the game-clinching interception in the final few seconds.

But Joey Porter Jr’s play also allowed 20-16 to happen, as the Steelers picked up their fifth victory of the season. It all started with a conversation Porter had with Steelers coach Mike Tomlin when the team started prepping for the Titans.

“On Tuesday, I went to Coach T (Tomlin) and told him, ‘I want 10,’ ” Porter told reporters with NFL Network after the game. “That’s what I was looking for. I don’t really hide from nothing, so I was like, ‘That’s the matchup I want, that’s the matchup I need.’ “

Porter added that Tomlin’s initial response was “we’ll think about it.”

Joey Porter Jr picked up coverage of DeAndre Hopkins on more than 70 percent of the Titans offesnsive snaps. This photo shows the only time Porter allowed a Hopkins’ catch. (Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Tomlin didn’t really “say yes on Tuesday. He was like, ‘We going to think about it’ because they was like, ‘That’s kind of crazy,’ ” Joey Porter said. “But throughout the week, they was like, ‘Alright, we going to let you get 10 on some reps in,’ and then throughout the game, it was like ‘you just go where 10 is at.’ “

Now, for some context. Porter, the Steeler legacy, was Pittsburgh’s second-round draft pick back in April. He earned a starting job last weekend against the Jaguars. Hopkins, the three-time All Pro, is new to the Titans. Tennessee switched quarterbacks to rookie Will Levis last Sunday. And Levis leaned heavily on Hopkins in his debut. The rookie QB threw four touchdown passes, with three of them to Hopkins.

The Titans would’ve loved to use that game plan against the Steelers. They could set up some play action by handing off a ton to Derrick Henry. Then Hopkins could run the deep routes. But Joey Porter mucked that up. According to Next Gen Stats, Porter lined up on Hopkins on 72.2 percent of the time. So that amounted to Porter-on-Hopkins for 26 of 36 of the receiver’s routes. On those plays, Levis threw to Hopkins five times, with the receiver catching just one pass for 17 yards.

Nice job, Joey Porter Jr.