The Pittsburgh Steelers escaped Paris with a win in Week 7, but it wasn't a clean game for the secondary. Despite a fantastic run defense that allowed just 18 yards on 1.1 yards per carry against the New Orleans Saints, second-year quarterback Tyler Shough exploited the Steelers' cornerbacks.
The Dallas Cowboys recently wrapped up their Monday Night Football game against the Philadelphia Eagles. And as much as we hate to admit it, Joey Porter Jr. was phenomenal.
The former Steelers cornerback was targeted five times in Week 7, but allowed just 10 yards, per Pro Football Focus [$]. Porter also had one big pass breakup down the left sideline in the second half, wasn't penalized, and finished the game allowing just a 47.9 passer rating in coverage.
Now Steelers fans have a reason to feel bitter about the Porter trade all over again.
The Pittsburgh Steelers will wish they had Joey Porter Jr. back if he keeps performing well for the Dallas Cowboys
Sadly, this isn't just a one-off performance. Porter has now suited up for three games with the Cowboys, and on 80 coverage snaps (112 total), he's been targeted nine times but has allowed just two catches for 10 yards on the season, for a 39.6 passer rating.
It doesn't get much better than that.
This shouldn't come as a surprise to Steelers fans. Porter is coming off an exceptional 2025 season in which he allowed just 325 receiving yards and gave up a 55.9 passer rating all year—and we just got another painful reminder of what the Steelers could have had.
This might not sting quite as bad if we didn't just experience unspectacular secondary play all around in Week 7. Seven days after earning Defensive Player of the Week honors for his game against Tampa Bay, Jalen Ramsey was humiliated in Paris—allowing 10 catches on 11 targets for 127 yards and a touchdown.
In this one game, Ramsey found a way to give up 12 times as many yards as Porter has all season so far. He wasn't the only culprit either. Jamel Dean gave up five catches for 37 yards against the Saints, while Asante Samuel Jr. allowed 27 yards on three catches, and DeShon Elliott gave up a 24-yard reception.
Obviously, Porter's presence in Dallas isn't going to fix a bad Cowboys defense overnight, and there's only so much he can do to make up for his teammates' shortcomings. But there's no question that the Cowboys are getting everything Porter was advertised to be since the trade.
Pittsburgh keeps winning football games. But if good teams are able to pass the ball all over them when they face stiffer competition later this year, the Steelers will have even more reasons to wish they had Joey Porter Jr. back.
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