Bengals' Ja'Marr Chase Hits Steelers' Joey Porter Jr. With Legitimate Reality Check: "It Don't Really Matter"

The Pittsburgh Steelers are gearing up for their second matchup of the 2025 season with the Cincinnati Bengals. Pittsburgh lost the first game between the two sides in a high scoring affair that ended after a game-winning field goal from Cincinnati that made the final score 33-31. Pittsburgh's defense could not slow the Bengals down on the ground or through the air, and Joe Flacco looked extremely comfortable in the game as he was able to pick apart Pittsburgh's defense to get the win for Cincinnati. The Steelers are hoping things go differently this time around, as it was obvious defensive changes had to be made.

The Steelers must find a way to slow down Flacco and the dangerous receivers of the Bengals. One of those wide receivers is Ja'Marr Chase, who caught 16 passes the last time these two franchises matched up. He recorded 161 yards in the game and a touchdown, and that was with Jalen Ramsey covering him for most of the game. Chase will likely see a lot of Joey Porter Jr. this time around, and the star receiver was asked about the cornerback during his media availability on Wednesday.

"Handsy, real handsy," Chase said of Porter. "I like any matchup with me. It don't really matter. I love the game, I love competing."

Porter is known as one of the more physical cornerbacks in the NFL, and he has a history of struggling with penalties. He has only been flagged four times during the 2025 season, but he had a rough performance in 2024 against the Bengals where he was penalized six times, although only four of them were accepted.

Porter is a better player than he was during the 2024 season, and the Steelers are also better defensively than they were earlier in the season. It is completely reasonable for Chase to be feeling rather confident going into this game because of the first matchup. He has proven himself as one of the best wide receivers in the NFL, his quarterback is playing at a high-level, and Pittsburgh's secondary struggled severely the last time this battle presented itself. However, things are going to be different this time around as the Steelers have made significant personnel changes and are likely to change things schematically as well.

Some obvious changes for the Pittsburgh defense is going to be the safety duo. The Steelers acquired Kyle Dugger at the trade deadline after DeShon Elliott went down with an injury, and he has played well in the two weeks he has been with the team. Ramsey has also been playing more safety, and the addition of Asante Samuel Jr. should allow that trend to continue. It is unclear if Samuel will be elevated to the active roster for this game or not, but it is certainly a possibility as of now.

Steelers Have An Underrated Hero Playing Well In The Secondary

Pittsburgh has had a decent amount of injuries in the backend of the defense. This includes Darius Slay exiting almost every game this season with some form of an injury. He is currently in concussion protocol, but that gave James Pierre a chance to play a little more against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 10. He has filled in for Slay a decent amount in 2025, and he is certainly having the best season of his career. He is eighth in the league when it comes to pass breakups despite having limited opportunities. This has something to do with opposing quarterback wanting to pick on him when he enters a game, but he is also playing well. 

If Slay is going to be out on Sunday and Samuel isn't elevated to the active roster, which seems like something that is bound to happen, Pierre could be thrust into a big role against the Bengals.

What do you think about Chase's comments on Porter? Let us know in the comments below!

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