FRISCO, Texas — Joey Porter Jr. was on the field for 24 of the Dallas Cowboys‘ 52 defensive snaps Sunday in Houston, where Dallas beat the Houston Texans 34-30. The Cowboys had acquired the cornerback from the Pittsburgh Steelers four days earlier. Next Gen Stats had Porter targeted once in 19 coverage snaps, and Houston did not complete the pass.
When the call came last Wednesday night, Porter was sitting in a late movie in Pittsburgh. He was in the Metroplex by 8 a.m. Thursday, and about five and a half hours after that he was on the practice field at The Star, having passed his physical. Dallas sent Pittsburgh a 2028 second-round pick and a conditional 2027 sixth-round pick in the deal, which The Ringer’s Tom Pelissero first reported.
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer did not hide the reasoning on Thursday, tying the trade to the front office’s win now urgency, a mindset he said he and owner and general manager Jerry Jones have shared since he took the job.
“Jerry and I have talked from the very beginning. We’re in a win-now mindset. That doesn’t change,” Schottenheimer said. “Why? Well, Jerry’s 84. That’s one reason. Dak Prescott’s still playing at an elite level. We’ve got some elite weapons on offense, and the defense is getting better.”
The Cowboys host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night with three days of practice in between, so anybody setting a fantasy roster or a single-game DFS slate should keep a live NFL starting lineup board open until the official inactives drop at 5:45 p.m. CT.
Joey Porter Jr. Plays Rotational Role In Dallas Cowboys Win Over Houston Texans
The Cowboys never planned on a full game from Porter in Houston. Cowboys COO and co-owner Stephen Jones went on 105.3 The Fan on Friday, a day after the physical, and set the expectation for Sunday.
“He’s going to get snaps,” Jones said.
Schottenheimer would not describe the package defensive coordinator Christian Parker built for Porter, saying the Texans would be reading the team’s clips that week.
“Yeah, he’s got a very specific plan. I’m not going to give it away because obviously the Texans are going to be reading our clips and seeing what’s going on,” Schottenheimer said. “But if he’s out there, we’ll have a very specific plan. Is it realistic to say he’s going to play every play of the game? Probably not. But if he plays, we’ll certainly have a good package for him.”
Porter lined up mostly on the boundary. Parker had called him a boundary eraser last week and said he had been watching him since the 2023 draft.
Two safeties, Jalen Thompson and P.J. Locke, were already on injured reserve when the Cowboys left for Houston, and Cobie Durant was inactive with a hamstring injury. Shavon Revel Jr. played a week after hyperextending his right knee in the Week 3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Rio de Janeiro. Dallas brought up Reddy Steward and Juanyeh Thomas from the practice squad for the game. Playing for the first time since fracturing his forearm in Week 1, safety Malik Hooker finished with a team-high 7 tackles.
On the other side from Porter, DaRon Bland spent much of the afternoon on Nico Collins, Houston’s top receiver, who got loose on him early.
“It was a little tough, very bigger guy,” Bland said.
Houston went 3 of 10 on third down. Rashan Gary got to C.J. Stroud for a sack in the second quarter, and Quinnen Williams brought him down again in the fourth. On the last play of the game, Hooker knocked down Houston’s Hail Mary.
The final snap in Rio a week earlier had gone the other way. Lamar Jackson hit Zay Flowers for 26 yards against man coverage, and Baltimore kicked the winning field goal with one second left. Parker said last Wednesday that he would change that call.
“I had a original call in mind, but overthought the situation, relative to what their mindset was going to be going over time, trying to get some quick Hail Mary, all those things,” Parker said. “So, I definitely would make a different call if that the situation came up again.”
CeeDee Lamb‘s afternoon ended with 17 catches on 21 targets for 189 yards, the last of them the go-ahead touchdown. He has been targeted 46 times this season. Three of the Dallas touchdowns came on runs by Javonte Williams, the first time a Cowboys running back had scored 3 rushing touchdowns in a game since Tony Pollard against Chicago in 2022. Dak Prescott threw for 335 yards. The win was his 85th in the regular season, which tied Roger Staubach for second on the franchise list, 10 behind Troy Aikman. Dallas games have gone over the total in all four weeks.
Jalon Daniels, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Visit Dallas Cowboys On Short Week
On Monday, Dallas opened the 21-day practice window for left guard Tyler Smith, who had surgery on his thumb. He was limited Monday and limited again Tuesday. Schottenheimer called it a long shot that linebacker DeMarvion Overshown plays Thursday, since Overshown has been out with a hamstring injury since Week 1 against the New York Giants. Overshown did not practice Tuesday, and neither did Durant. Game designations for both teams come out on Wednesday’s final injury report.
Tampa Bay will start undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels again, Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles said. Baker Mayfield dislocated his right thumb late in the Week 3 game against the Minnesota Vikings. In Sunday’s 17-14 home loss to the Green Bay Packers, Daniels completed 19-of-27 passes for 148 yards with a touchdown and 2 interceptions. His 55 rushing yards on 8 carries set a franchise record for a rookie quarterback.
Daniels looked for Chris Godwin Jr. 7 times, and Godwin caught 6 of them for 31 yards. The first interception came on a throw meant for Emeka Egbuka, who caught 2 of his 4 targets for 13 yards. Cade Otton finished with 4 catches for 37 yards. Ted Hurst caught 2 passes for 25. Tampa Bay is 0-4 for the first time since 2013.
Houston put Dallas back at 2-2, a game behind the 3-1 Giants in the NFC East. The Philadelphia Eagles are 2-2 as well and head to London to play the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. The Washington Commanders are 1-3. Elsewhere in the NFC, the Vikings and San Francisco 49ers have yet to lose.
Porter sat out all three of Pittsburgh’s games after extension talks with the Steelers stalled before the season. He is playing out the final year of his rookie contract now. His back, which the Steelers had listed, was “feeling better,” he told reporters in Frisco on Thursday, The Associated Press reported.
Whether he was active each week in Pittsburgh was “more on my end,” Porter said, and he described the standoff with the Steelers as business. He said he felt more valued by Dallas.
“But that’s the old news now,” Porter said.
The Cowboys do not plan to extend him during the season, NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported. Kickoff Thursday at AT&T Stadium is set for 7:15 p.m. CT.
