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Beginning with the days of the “Steel Curtain” in the 1970s, the Pittsburgh Steelers have always been characterized by a ferocious defense; in particular, from the likes of Greg Lloyd and Kevin Greene to Jason Gildon to T.J. Watt today, a hallmark of their defensive scheme has consistently been elite pass-rushing outside linebackers. Notably, in the 2000s, the Steelers defense was anchored by successive brash pass-rushers, first with Joey Porter and then followed by James Harrison. Both among the top five career sack leaders in team history, each was an intimidating (and perhaps at times, dirty) player who will go down in team lore as a legend, but the question is:
Who was better – James Harrison or Joey Porter?
The Beginning
Despite standout high school football careers, Harrison and Porter each played college football at relatively unheralded schools and were either mid-round draft picks (Porter) or went completely undrafted, thus coming into the NFL with limited expectations.
Born and raised in Akron, Ohio as the youngest of 14 children, Harrison starred in both football and track and field in high school, but ultimately did not receive any major college football scholarship offers due to off-the-field issues. As a result, he walked on to the football team at Kent State and after sitting out his freshman year due to academic ineligibility, he steadily improved and was named First Team All-Mid-Atlantic Conference (MAC) as a senior while leading the conference in sacks. However, Harrison went undrafted in the 2002 NFL Draft before signing with the Steelers as a free agent, where he spent a couple of years on and off the practice squad, playing in one game in 2002. During the 2003 season, he was signed by the Baltimore Ravens and briefly went overseas to play for the Rhein Fire in the now-defunct NFL Europe. Having been cut numerous times, he rejoined Pittsburgh for good in 2004, playing in all 16 games that year and contributing 50 total tackles with 1.0 sack.
Meanwhile, though born in Kansas City, Porter played high school football (as well as basketball) in California and was twice an All-Conference selection before attending Colorado State University. Originally an offensive player in college, he made the switch to defense as a junior and was named First Team All-Western Athletic Conference (WAC) and Third Team All-American. Following a record-setting senior year in which he set a single-season school mark for sacks, Porter was selected 73rd overall in the third round of the 1999 NFL Draft by the Steelers; as a rookie, he was a rotational and special teams player, totaling 26 tackles, 2.0 sacks, and a pair of fumble recoveries (including his first NFL touchdown).
Career Comparison
From Porter early in the 2000s to Harrison later in the decade, each was a pass-rushing terror off the edge for the Steelers in his prime, a consistent threat to notch double-digit sacks annually while giving the team’s defense that extra menacing intimidation factor to drive fear in opposing team’s offenses.
Harrison remained a defensive backup and special teams player for most of the 2005 and 2006 seasons before finally becoming a starter with new head coach Mike Tomlin taking over and the team releasing Porter; it was a good decision, as Harrison racked up 98 total tackles, 8.5 sacks, an interception, and 7 forced fumbles to earn the first of five straight Pro Bowl selections and earn Second Team All-Pro honors. The next year, he was even better: with career-highs of 101 total tackles and 16.0 sacks (which set a single-season Steelers record), plus an interception and a league-high 7 forced fumbles in 2008, he was not only named First Team All-Pro, but also became the first undrafted player to win Defensive Player of the Year. After signing a well-deserved long-term contract extension, Harrison followed up in 2009 with another excellent campaign, tallying 79 total tackles with 10.0 sacks and 5 forced fumbles.
Entering the 2010s, Harrison remained one of the league’s best defensive players, once again earning First Team All-Pro honors with 100 total tackles, a third straight year of double-digit sacks (10.5), a career-best 2 interceptions, and another 6 forced fumbles. Though limited by injuries to 11 games in 2011, he was a Pro Bowler for the final time with 9.0 sacks; however, after declining to 6.0 sacks in 2012, he was released by the team and joined the division rival Cincinnati Bengals, where he lasted one disappointing season with just 2.0 sacks, by far his worst output as a starter. Released by the Bengals at season’s end, Harrison retired as a member of the Steelers in 2014 at age 36, but quickly returned to active status in a reserve capacity. Over the next three seasons, he primarily was a rotational player and averaged roughly 5.0 sacks a year, in the process surpassing Jason Gildon in 2016 as Pittsburgh’s all-time sack leader. By the 2017 season, though, his playing time had dwindled and upon being released by the team, Harrison joined the New England Patriots, though only played one regular season game and retired for good at the end of the year at 39.
By his second season in 2000, Porter had seized a starting job and compiled 60 total tackles with 10.5 sacks (his most as a Steeler), an interception, and 2 forced fumbles. For the next couple of years, he was a consistent pass-rushing force with back-to-back 9.0 sack seasons, including a 2002 campaign that saw him earn both Pro Bowl and First Team All-Pro honors (in addition to the sacks, career-highs of 89 total tackles and 4 interceptions with 2 forced fumbles). After declining to just 5.0 sacks in 2003, he rebounded with consecutive Pro Bowl selections in 2004 and 2005:
- 2004: 54 total tackles, 7.0 sacks, 1 interception, and 3 forced fumbles
- 2005: 57 total tackles, 10.5 sacks, 2 interceptions, and 4 forced fumbles
Despite another solid season in 2006 (7.0 sacks), the aforementioned head coaching change and salary cap considerations led to the Steelers releasing Porter (in favor of Harrison, ironically). Nevertheless, he quickly latched on with the Miami Dolphins, where he played opposite star defensive end Jason Taylor – after a mediocre first season in Miami (5.5 sacks), Porter exploded in 2008 with a career-high 17.5 sacks (second in the league only to DeMarcus Ware’s 20.0 sacks), adding 48 total tackles and 4 forced fumbles for his final Pro Bowl selection. As an encore, he had another solid year in 2009 with 9.0 sacks, but was suspended by the team for a game in-season and released at the end of the year. Porter’s next and final stop was the Arizona Cardinals, where he would spend the last two years of his career – following a 5.0-sack season in 2010, he was limited by injuries to just six games played and 1.0 sack in 2011, retiring after the season at age 35 as a member of the Steelers.
While Harrison technically played two more NFL seasons than Porter (15 vs. 13), the duo are separated by only five career regular season games and given the former’s later start to becoming a full-time starter, the latter actually started significantly more games. Having said that, with the exception of sacks (98.0 to 84.5 in Porter’s favor), Harrison was the more productive player, accumulating more total tackles and forcing more fumbles. With three double-digit sack seasons apiece, this resulted in more Pro Bowls (5 vs. 4) and All-Pro selections (2 to 1) for Harrison, as well as the Defensive Player of the Year award. Given each player’s body of work, both are somewhat on the fringe of Hall of Fame consideration.
Regular Season Statistics
| James Harrison | Player | Joey Porter |
| 15 (2002, 2004-2017) | Seasons | 13 (1999-2011) |
| 193 | Games Played | 188 |
| 84.5 | Sacks | 98.0 |
| 34 | Forced Fumbles | 25 |
| 583 | Solo Tackles | 516 |
| 228 | Assisted Tackles | 173 |
| 5x | Pro Bowls | 4x |
| 2x | All-Pro | 1x |
| 2x | Super Bowls | 1x |
| 1x Defensive POY | Other Awards | – |
| – | Hall of Fame Induction | – |
Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
Over the course of a decade, the Steelers made three Super Bowl appearances and won two titles, with either Harrison and/or Porter being key contributors on all three teams. Both linebackers were part of the 2005 team that beat the Seattle Seahawks 21-10 in Super Bowl XL – while the former was a backup and contributed sparingly, the latter had 3.0 postseason sacks with 3 total tackles in the Super Bowl. For Porter, though he made four total playoff trips with the Steelers and another with the Dolphins, this would be his crowning postseason achievement.
Meanwhile, Harrison was an 11x playoff participant, including 9x with Pittsburgh (plus 1x each with Cincinnati and New England). In addition to Super Bowl XL, he also was a member of the Super Bowl XLIII-winning team – this time, in a 27-23 win over the Cardinals, Harrison made 4 tackles in the championship and most notably, had a 100-yard interception return of Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner to close out the first half; at the time, this was the longest play in Super Bowl history. A couple of years later, the Steelers made it back to Super Bowl XLV vs. Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers, but would lose a close game 31-25; for his part, Harrison notched a sack, one of 4.0 total postseason sacks that year.
Playoff Statistics
| James Harrison | Player | Joey Porter |
| 22 | Games Played | 11 |
| 11.0 | Sacks | 6.0 |
| 1 | Forced Fumbles | 1 |
| 67 | Solo Tackles | 30 |
| 26 | Assisted Tackles | 14 |
Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
Every athlete goes through a natural career lifecycle, from starting off as a rookie to reaching peak years of performance and finally, declining into the inevitable retirement due to a combination of age and/or injury; Harrison’s peak was sandwiched between his early days as a special teams and depth player and his later career as a reserve, while Porter’s overall effectiveness diminished after leaving Pittsburgh with the exception of his one Pro Bowl year in Miami. For Hall of Fame caliber players across sports, I like to look at a concept I call a “decade of dominance.” The thinking behind this is that for most Hall of Fame type careers, there are roughly 10 great seasons that define an athlete (this idea is embodied in a sense by the NFL’s All-Decade teams, of which Porter is on the Second Team for the 2000s), though due to injury or other factors, they might not be 10 consecutive years.
Decade of Dominance
| James Harrison | Player | Joey Porter |
| 2005, 2007-2012, 2014-2016 | Decade of Dominance | 2000-2009 |
| 144 | Games Played | 152 |
| 78.5 | Sacks | 90.0 |
| 33 | Forced Fumbles | 22 |
| 508 | Solo Tackles | 444 |
| 194 | Assisted Tackles | 153 |
Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
Here, the statistical trends are essentially the same as for their total careers – Porter was a better sack artist, but Harrison reigned supreme overall with more tackles and turnovers caused.
My Thoughts
James Harrison and Joey Porter are no doubt both polarizing figures – because of their high level of skill, but also their intensity, trash-talking, and at times, dirty play, they are the type of players you love to have on your team, but hate if they play for a rival franchise. In comparing the duo, I would argue that while Porter was a productive player for a longer period of time (given his pedigree and the expectations when he was drafted into the league), Harrison was the better all-around player (pass-rushing, playing the run, forcing turnovers, etc.) and a more dominant force at his peak, even if he had a later start to being a full-time player. Moreover, from an intangibles perspective, having watched both of them play in their heydays, I think Harrison was the nastier, more physically imposing presence who was far more feared by opposing teams (whereas Porter was better-known for his trash-talking). As to their Hall of Fame candidacies, both fall just short to me due to slightly different reasons – Harrison for not being dominant for long enough and Porter for not quite being that dominant overall; nevertheless, alongside the likes of predecessors like the aforementioned Lloyd and Gildon, just to name a few, both players will remain etched in Pittsburgh lore as part of the team’s storied history of great pass-rushing linebackers.
Thus, after weighing their careers against each other in terms of statistics, achievements, and impact, the winner of this faceoff is:
James Harrison
As always, vote for your choice and leave your thoughts and comments below.
Further Reading
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