PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – For as much as the officials seem to be paying attention to George Pickens on the offensive end, a Steelers defender believes he's being watched as well.
Second-year corner Joey Porter, Junior was called for a handful of penalties including a pair in the end zone setting up a couple of Bengals touchdowns on Sunday.
"Definitely, I got that target on my back," Porter said. "Some of those calls, I feel like I'm not doing nothing that other DBs are doing. I got that target on my back. I got to keep working."
Porter leads the league with half-a-dozen pass interference penalties and is top five in overall penalties this year. On one play on Sunday in Cincinnati he had a holding call and a pass interference on the same play.
He said head coach Mike Tomlin is not upset with him. Tomlin told him to keep working and not let it get to his head.
"I try to not let that effect my game," Porter said. "Sometimes I show my emotions a little bit because I'm mad about it. I'm not switching up. I'll keep going at it."
Last season Porter was called for three pass interference penalties over 17 games. Its double that in 2024 and he's already in the rare double-digit plateau overall. He recently turned 24-years-old and he's upset by the flags, but is sticking with his plan.
"I'm trying to be great at the end of the day," Porter said. "I got to keep playing and doing my job. I feel like at this point they are trying to alter my play. I'm not really worried about that."
