Joey Porter Jr. on Lamar Jackson, Odell INT: Steelers Had 'a Party on the Sidelines'

Joey Porter Jr.s' first career NFL interception could not have come at a better time.

The Steelers cornerback picked off Lamar Jackson late in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game against the Baltimore Ravens, helping turn the tide in Pittsburgh's comeback 17-10 win over its arch rival.

"I'm the rookie out there against Odell Beckham on the third down, so I already kind of had that in the back of my mind, 'They're going to try me on this play,'" Porter told reporters after the game.

"... It was a party on the sidelines. It was definitely great to turn up with my guys. The coaches were excited for me. Earlier this week, Coach [Tomlin] was like, 'Get a pick and hand it to me on the sideline.' So that's exactly what I did. I handed it right to him."

The Ravens held a 10-8 lead with under five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter when they took possession of the ball at Pittsburgh's 7-yard line. After a three-yard run from Gus Edwards and an unsuccessful pass to Mark Andrews, Jackson tossed a poorly thrown ball in the direction of Odell Beckham that instead wound up in the hands of Porter.

The Penn State product had been largely absent from the field over his first four NFL games but played a career-high 40 percent of the defensive snaps on Sunday. Twenty-five of those snaps came in the second half when Porter joined the starting unit.

"Porter has been playing increasingly more with each passing week," Tomlin said. "I've been really transparent about the inclusion of all the rookies. Oftentimes we start with a good foundational plan in terms of how they participate, and we grow from there. He's done a solid job with the work given. And today he got more. He did a nice job with the work he was given today."

The Steelers used the top pick in the second round of April's draft to take Porter, who was a three-time All-Big Ten selection in State College. Suffice it to stay if his performance in crunch time this week was any indication, his future is bright in Pittsburgh.