The 10-6 Pittsburgh Steelers host the 8-8 Cincinnati Bengals at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday night for their regular-season finale. With a win over Cincinnati and a Baltimore Ravens loss to the Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh would clinch the AFC North Division title and the third seed in the AFC. However, with a Ravens victory, the Steelers will either remain in the fifth seed or drop to the sixth seed.

Pittsburgh Steelers’ young starting cornerback has yet to play since Week 16

Joey Porter Jr. suffered an apparent knee injury during the first quarter of Week 16 against the Baltimore Ravens after attempting to tackle Derrick Henry. He did not return for the remainder of the game, as the Steelers later downgraded him to out. Tests determined that Porter Jr. sustained a PCL sprain. 

As a result, JPJ did not practice last Monday and Tuesday and missed Week 17 against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Steelers’ starting cornerback receives a massive injury update for Week 18

Joey Porter Jr. (knee) participated during this week’s short practice as a full participant. The Pittsburgh Steelers released their week’s final injury report, and he did not have an official injury designation, a great sign for his availability. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the Steelers removed Porter Jr. from their injury report and is “good to go Saturday night vs. Cincinnati.”

Who will he cover in Week 18?

Joey Porter Jr. confirmed to the media that he will cover star wide receiver Tee Higgins on Saturday night. The last time Porter Jr. covered Higgins was Week 13, when Higgins caught five passes on ten targets for 69 yards and one touchdown. At the same time, Porter Jr. was flagged six times, including three pass interference penalties, two holding penalties, and one illegal use of hands to the face, as four were accepted.

JPJ is looking forward to the anticipated rematch.

“Definitely going to get Higgins again,” Porter said. “He got a lot of good qualities to his game that I like. He could go attack the ball. He is pretty fast, so it’s going to be a good matchup.”