Pittsburgh Steelers CB shares message to Joey Porter Jr.

As the Pittsburgh Steelers navigate the remainder of their bye week, Donte Jackson shared a resounding message with Joey Porter Jr. while the corner room seems to maintain its strong level of play.

Conversations with reportersJackson acknowledged that although he and Porter Jr. have both established themselves as stalwarts within a ferocious Steelers defense so far in the season, there is still a lot of work to be done.

“We didn’t play a lot of ball, but we played a lot of good ball,” Jackson said. “Top of the league in many categories. But that doesn’t mean anything; we just have to keep working. Because no one cares what we did before the bye week if we don’t come out this bye week with our heads out on the right side, ready to describe work.

That’s really been the message for both of us. Being an older guy, that was the message for him: just keep growing, keep showing up every day, be willing to work and keep getting better. The best thing about this competition is that you always have new opportunities to grow, new opportunities to get better. That really becomes the model.”

In their first season together as the starting tandem, both Porter Jr. as Jackson enjoyed their brilliant moments.

As Pittsburgh’s No. 1 corner in his second campaign, Porter Jr. helped keep the likes of Drake London, CeeDee Lamb and Malik Nabers in check while showing the potential to become a true shutdown player, starting just 20 receptions on the year in all eight of the team’s games.

Jackson, who passed by in an offseason trade from the Carolina Panthers for wide receiver Diontae Johnsonhas been there every step of the way too. The 28-year-old has collected three interceptions this season and given up 22 catches, none of which have gone for a touchdown, according to Pro football focus.

The Steelers’ defense is among the best in the NFL, giving up the second-fewest points (14.9) and ninth-fewest total yards (310.3) per game.

However, as Jackson said, those numbers mean nothing if he, Porter Jr. and the rest of the team do not return from the farewell with the same strength and mentality as they brought with them in the first half of the year.

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