Joey Porter Jr. needed only a few days in a Cowboys uniform to show why Dallas made the deal.
The Cowboys acquired the cornerback from the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 30. Dallas sent a 2028 second-round pick and a 2027 sixth-round selection to Pittsburgh in return.
Porter had not played a snap this season before Sunday. The 26-year-old sat out Pittsburgh’s first three games while dealing with a back injury and a contract standoff.
He is in the final year of his rookie contract. No long-term extension is in place, so he will finish 2026 playing on the deal he signed as a draft pick.
Porter debuted Sunday in Houston and was part of a 34-30 Cowboys win. Dallas improved to 2-2. Houston dropped to 0-4, its first 0-4 start since 2020.
He played 24 of 52 defensive snaps, according to Next Gen Stats. Nineteen of those snaps came in coverage.
C.J. Stroud targeted him once and did not complete the pass. Porter also was not targeted on five snaps against Nico Collins, Houston’s top receiver.
The Texans largely stayed away from his side of the field. That came after Porter joined the defense with about 72 hours to learn the calls.
“I’m a dog at the end of the day, and I want to be out there with the guys,” Porter said, according to the Cowboys’ website. “So I have to prove why they got me here, and I feel like I did that today.”
Stroud still found production elsewhere. He completed 21 of 31 passes for 347 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions.
Collins caught seven passes for 118 yards and both of those scores in his return from a hamstring injury. Houston added 62 rushing yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.
Dallas needed a second-half rally to survive. Javonte Williams ran for three touchdowns, and CeeDee Lamb finished with 17 catches for 189 yards and the go-ahead score with 40 seconds left.
Dak Prescott completed 32 of 45 passes for 335 yards. Houston still finished with 397 total net yards, so the defense did not close the door.
Porter’s track record is what the front office paid for. In 47 games with the Steelers, including 41 starts, he recorded 165 tackles, 31 pass breakups and three interceptions.
The Steelers selected him with the 32nd overall pick in 2023 out of Penn State. Last season, quarterbacks posted a 66.0 passer rating when throwing his direction, and he allowed 35 catches on 66 targets for 412 yards with no touchdowns, according to Next Gen Stats.
He has not allowed a coverage touchdown since Week 8 of 2023, a span of more than 1,000 coverage snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.
Dallas hosts the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5. The Buccaneers are 0-4. Porter’s role is expected to grow as he settles into the scheme under coordinator Christian Parker.
