Crisan: The kids are here ... and they have to be here to stay taken at Acrisure Stadium (Steelers)

JOE SARGENT / GETTY

Joey Porter Jr. celebrates his fourth-quarter interception with Elandon Roberts during Sunday's game at Acrisure Stadium.

The 32nd overall selection in the NFL Draft was made for this purpose.

With 4:10 remaining and Sunday's game hanging by a thread for the Steelers, the difference between a 2-3 record and a 3-2 record heading into a Week 6 bye largely hinged on this one play. 

This one play cemented a rookie -- forever -- into the NFL's most impactful and heated rivalry. 

Lined up to the right of Lamar Jackson on this third-and-goal play from the 5-yard line was a Steelers rookie who worked and waited for his shot. He was the same rookie who had been selected with that 32nd overall pick in April's draft to make plays like this:

That's Joey Porter Jr's first career interception. Thrown by Jackson, targeted for Odell Beckham, hauled in by the second-generation Steeler who has only seen this rivalry from the sideline. Much like his father did 17 times in his 13-year NFL career, Porter carved his name into this historic matchup forever with one glowing moment.

For all of the warts the Steelers still express -- namely, of course, within their offense -- Porter and the rest of the kids were the brightest spots of the day in this 17-10 victory over the Ravens Saturday at Acrisure Stadium. 

That interception from the former 32nd pick -- off of another former 32nd pick -- needs be considered as a passing of the torch.

“Just excited. Just happy to be able to make a play for this team at a crucial moment of the game, and I really just put myself in that Steelers-Baltimore rivalry," Porter said with a grin stretched from ear-to-ear in a jubilant post-game locker room. 

"I’m just happy."

And after a celebration on the field for the rookie's first impact play of his career, Porter made sure to pay his debt on the Steelers' sideline.

"It was a party on the sideline so it was definitely great turning up with my guys," Porter said. "All the coaches were excited for me. Earlier this week coach (Mike Tomlin) was like, ‘get a pick and return it to me on the sideline,' so that’s exactly what I did. Handed it right to him.”

Tomlin made it a point of emphasis immediately after the win. As in, he talked about the "new guys" performing in unprovoked, unprompted, and unsolicited manners as the first things that stood out to him from Sunday's win.

"Just really appreciative of the effort of the men, particularly the new guys, whether it's the new veterans that are new to us or the rookies," Tomlin said. "This is their first exposure to this series, this matchup. You've really got to be a part of it to understand it and appreciate it and be ready to deliver what is required in terms of effort, in terms of fight, attention to detail, et cetera. And so those guys that are new to the Steelers, I just really appreciate it.

"... Some of those guys have been in significant matchups before. So if you went to Alabama or Auburn, I said it's like the Iron Bowl. If you went to Bemidji State, I said it's like Bemidji State versus (Minnesota State) Mankato. You know what I mean? You're just trying to capture the essence of it for these guys."

Porter and the rest of the Steelers' kids got more than just the essence of it. From this point forward, the kids have to be primary authors of the script of the 2023 season, whether those pages are written with moments of mistakes or moments of successes that result in wins, losses, or ties.

The coaching staff clearly saw it with Porter, who played in the Steelers' base defense in place of Levi Wallace and, in some spots, Patrick Peterson in the second half. The plug so firmly held in by Tomlin and Teryl Austin had, at last, been pulled.

"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."

Porter has been a lockdown cornerback through five games. He has allowed just one completion and forced two incompletions on eight targets in his 63 snaps. He has allowed a passer rating of 27.6 to begin his career.

After making the play of his life, Porter humbly returned to a centered mindset over what is to come.

“We just keep stacking days," Porter said. "Don’t keep lingering too long on this performance. It happened, we watch the film, and keep moving. That’s what I’ve got to do.”

These first- and second-year players need to become the identity of Tomlin's 2023 Steelers. This identity is built on speed, excitement, and big-play ability, among a menu of other dominant traits in today's NFL.

Speaking of dominant, welcome to the NFL, Broderick Jones.

Though he had to sit behind Dan Moore Jr. for four games, Jones was not just going to walk through a door opened by Moore's knee injury.

The 14th overall pick in the draft kicked that door open, tore it off of its hinges, took an axe to it, and set it on fire. He looked like a franchise left tackle in his first start as a Steeler.

Just look at his work on Jadeveon Clowney in the second quarter:

This is what Jones was drafted to do. Jones kept Kenny Pickett clean with zero pressures allowed. He paved the ways for Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren with a 97.6 run block win rate. He was physically dominant and was not whistled for a false start at any point.

All of these statements can be true: Moore was the better tackle than Jones out of Latrobe. Moore earned the starting job over Jones out of Latrobe. After this performance from Jones against the Ravens, Moore should be relegated to becoming Jones' backup.

"I feel like I'm getting there, slowly but surely," Jones said. "Still the little fine-detailed things you can still work on, but at the end of the day I feel like I'm getting better each and every day."

Jones' fellow rookie out of Georgia slid into the starting lineup out of necessity, as well. While Darnell Washington is not going to usurp Pat Freiermuth any time soon as the Steelers' top receiving threat, Washington took over the lion's share of snaps at the position over Connor Heyward on Sunday and made the most of his blocking reps, as he usually does, with Freiermuth absent.

Then there is Keeanu Benton. The defensive end has been challenged since Cam Heyward injured his groin in Week 1 and has made a difference for the interior of this line. He entered this game as Pro Football Focus' top-ranked Steelers rookie with a 78.6 grade, which placed him second among rookie interior defensive linemen and 12th overall among rookies across the league. He piled up three total tackles and a quarterback hit on Sunday, but has consistently been on the rise for these Steelers since his breakthrough performance in Las Vegas two weeks ago.

The proof is starting to show on Sundays, and not just on the Wednesday-through-Friday practice sessions on the South Side. This idea of the rookies having to wait first, though, is not a new mantra to this organization.

It goes off of the same logic that last year's team operated off of. Pickett rode the bench for the starts of four games before being unshackled at halftime of Week 4 last year. George Pickens was nothing more than a "Go" receiver last season and is now a blossoming star in this league. Warren went undrafted and clawed into a role behind Harris, and is now one of the best backup running backs in this league. 

Calvin Austin had to sit in street clothes all of last season with an injury, and he has the utmost trust from his quarterback to make plays in his second season. Heyward had to wait and carve out his own role and is now the Steelers' primary option at fullback.

This is what the Steelers do. A foundational plan, a pathway for development, and the time to grow.

But, that should only last for so long. It's time to let the kids loose going forward.

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