The Pittsburgh Steelers’ Beanie Bishop had a triumphant Sunday night after struggling in previous weeks. He recorded not only his first, but also his second career interceptions, both off of Aaron Rodgers. Beyond picking off those two passes, he also made several plays with strong tackling in what was certainly his best outing yet.
So what does he plan to do with those interception balls? Well, Bishop may have a hard time with that one. The rookie told Melissa Stark after the game that he needs a little help from Rodgers.
“I really want to get them signed and framed, for real,” he said during his post-game interview on NBC. Asked if he meant for Rodgers to sign them, he said “Yeah, for sure. We’ll see how that goes, though.”
And Bishop had a nice, big smirk on his face when he said it. But certainly, that is the kind of attitude that allowed him to make it this far. An undersized prospect who spent most of his career in smaller college programs, he has defied the odds.
The Steelers signed Beanie Bishop Jr. as a rookie college free agent after playing just one season at West Virginia. His ball-hawking ability obviously attracted them, recording 4 interceptions and 20 passes defensed, and he looked the part on Sunday night.
Partly due to a lack of options, the Steelers have started Bishop in the slot throughout the season. He is picking the right moment to come along, however, as his time there may be short. Steelers veteran CB Cameron Sutton is eligible to return from an eight-game suspension following their Week-9 bye week.
Perhaps if Bishop has another strong game next week, he can hold off a little bit longer, or at least retain a role in the rotation. Odds are they are not going to immediately throw everything on Sutton’s shoulders, given his time lost.
But picking off Aaron Rodgers twice will certainly help his case. Rodgers holds the NFL record for the lowest interception percentage in history. Prior to running into Beanie Bishop Jr., he threw 110 career interceptions on 7,878 attempts, or just 1.4 percent.
Rodgers is not the most friendly guy in the NFL, so I’m not sure there’s much chance of him being a good sport about such a request from a guy like Bishop. This is only his 21st multi-interception game, and just the fifth time one player has intercepted him twice.
Rodgers first threw two interceptions to one player in a game in 2008, with Jason David of the New Orleans Saints claiming the honors. Baccaro Rambo of the Buffalo Bills did it in 2014, then the Rams’ Janoris Jenkins in 2016. Most recently, Kirby Joseph of the Detroit Lions nabbed him twice in 2022. Now, Beanie Bishop Jr. joins the list, the second undrafted player and first undrafted rookie.
We will see if Rodgers deems that special enough to warrant his signature. But it was certainly a special night for Bishop, who helped the Steelers dominate in Russell Wilson’s debut.
