Cultures collide in Steelers-Commanders contest, spotlighted by Joey Porter-Terry McLaurin

No one can remember a November game in Washington with as much excitement as Steelers-Commanders this week. That’s because the Commanders’ current home, Northwest Stadium, was still under construction. It was Nov. 24, 1996, when Steve Young, Jerry Rice and the 49ers escaped with a 19-16 win. Fast forward 28 years and the Commanders have new ownership, new leadership and a sensational new quarterback.

And while NFL players reportedly told their agents last week to trade them to Washington (7-2), the Steelers (6-2) have had a winning culture for a long time and those cultures collide on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, CBS). Both teams also were active at this week’s trade deadline, Washington acquiring cornerback Marshon Lattimore and Pittsburgh landing linebacker Preston Smith and receiver Mike Williams.

Lattimore (hamstring) likely won’t be available to help cover Williams on Sunday but Lattimore’s new teammate, Joey Porter Jr., can’t wait for the “five-star matchup,” a matchup against Pro Bowler Terry McLaurin. As a rookie one year ago this week, Porter walked into Mike Tomlin’s office and demanded to cover DeAndre Hopkins.

“At first I was met with resistance,” Porter recalled with insider Mike Garafolo on Wednesday’s edition of The Insiders on YouTube, “because he was like, ‘You’re a rookie; we don’t want to put you out there.’ But I said, ‘Man, you drafted me for a reason; let me die on that hill.’ After that first game with D-Hop, I really didn’t have to keep going to him; he just let me have that.”

Whether Porter has that exclusively against McLaurin isn’t known outside Steelers headquarters. Tomlin said Tuesday Pittsburgh would put Porter where the Steelers deem appropriate. But insider Tom Pelissero wouldn’t let Porter leave without asking whether the cornerback walked into Tomlin’s office and demanded to cover McLaurin.

“I think that doesn’t even need to be said,” Porter said, smiling confidently. “He knows what I want.”

Sneaky great game: That’s how ESPN’s Mike Greenberg described Sunday’s matchup. Both teams need a win before crucial stretches in their November schedules (Pittsburgh has four straight division games, Washington gets the Eagles and Cowboys). Porter said Jayden Daniels is “coming in hot” like a Navy jet landing on a carrier, with an arsenal that owns the league’s third-best scoring offense (29.2 points per game). The Commanders are even better at home, where they’re 4-0 with a league-best 440.3-yard average in home games, including the Daniels Miracle Victory. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, owns the NFL’s second-ranked scoring defense, allowing just 14.9 points per game. Only one of Pittsburgh’s eight opponents has reached 20 points this season.

Undrafted excellence: Austin Ekeler (8,769) needs 105 scrimmage yards on Sunday to eclipse Arian Foster (8,873) for the second-highest career total by an undrafted running back since 1967. Only Priest Holmes (11,134) has more.

103-Watt power: Edge-rusher T.J. Watt has 103 sacks, the fourth-most by a player in his first eight NFL seasons all-time. Starting Sunday, he has the second half of the season to catch No. 3 Jared Allen (105) and No. 2 DeMarcus Ware (111). Reggie White leads that list with 124. The Commanders have allowed 17 sacks of Daniels. Nine of those came over Washington’s first three games.

DangeRuss streak: Russell Wilson has won each of his two starts and compiled a 111.9 passer rating (542 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions) since Tomlin made the controversial decision to remove Justin Fields. Wilson also enters with a touchdown pass in 21 straight games, the league’s longest active streak. Daniels, meanwhile, can join Wilson (2012), Chris Chandler (1988) and Ben Roethlisberger (2004) as one of only four rookie quarterbacks since 1950 to win his first five home starts. Overall, Daniels can join Roethlisberger (10) and Dak Prescott (nine) as one of three rookie quarterbacks in NFL history to win at least eight of their first 10 starts.

For more information on the Steelers and Commanders, visit the Pittsburgh and Washington team pages on ProFootballPost.com.