ORCHARD PARK, NY– Two former Penn State players were involved in a controversial play that led to current Pittsburgh Steelers CB Joey Porter Jr. leaving Monday’s NFL Wildcard Game against the Bills in Buffalo with an injury.
The other former PSU player involved was Connor McGovern, now an offensive lineman for the Bills.
Bills QB Josh Allen threw it back across his body and hit WR Stefon Diggs. Porter’s injury took place after the play.
McGovern hit Porter after the catch and the tackle, leading to him entering the blue medical tent. Porter went into the blue medical tent to be evaluated for a concussion. He is questionable to return and headed straight to the locker room after being evaluated for a concussion. That does not seem like a positive sign for Porter.
Cheap shot to Joey porter jr in the back of the head is wild smh pic.twitter.com/COA7r9AOUV
— John (@iam_johnw) January 15, 2024
Joey Porter Jr. came into this game ready for the challenge against Diggs. But Pittsburgh is in contention to try and come back in this one after struggling early on and building themselves a 24-10 deficit against the two-seeded Bills. But the defense has slowed the Bills down enough and injuries to the Bills have forced other players in that would usually not play like A.J. Klein, Dorian Williams, and Tyler Matakevich.
Porter, the son of former Steelers linebacker Joey Porter Sr., is the third cornerback in franchise history to win the award and first since Chad Scott won it in 1997. The other cornerback to win the award was Denton Hall in 1987.
Porter was drafted with the 32nd overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft. The Steelers acquired the pick to draft Porter by trading the drama-filled Chase Claypool to the Chicago Bears on Nov. 1, 2022. Porter began the year as a depth corner behind Patrick Peterson and Levi Wallace but due to his high level of play, he started the last 10 games as the team’s primary coverage cornerback.
Buffalo ended up winning, 31-17. McGovern and the Bills will go on to play the Chiefs in the divisional round next week at home.
