Entering the Sunday Night Football matchup against the New York Jets’ talented offense that added wide receiver Davante Adams for quarterback Aaron Rodgers to work with, there was plenty of concern for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ secondary, which had struggled in previous matchups against great quarterbacks.
Rodgers threw for 276 yards on the night and had some success through the air, but in the end, he made some crucial mistakes. It was a largely an unexpected player in the Steelers’ secondary that gave him fits and changed the game.
That would be rookie undrafted free agent cornerback Beanie Bishop Jr.
Bishop had two interceptions of Rodgers on the night, including one late in the first half on an unreal one-handed catch over the middle that ultimately changed the game. It wasn’t just the pair of interceptions from Bishop, either. He had a tackle for loss on the night and was all over the field.
Bishop’s performance earned plenty of praise from head coach Mike Tomlin after the Steelers’ 37-15 win over the Jets in primetime.
“Can’t say enough about young Beanie Bishop, man. That’s an awesome evening, man,” Tomlin said of the rookie corner, according to video via the Steelers’ YouTube page. “For him to get his first two interceptions versus a Gold Jacket guy like Aaron Rodgers, man. We’re just appreciative of the work that was done tonight to make the night what it was.”
Bishop was having some issues in previous weeks, struggling with communication at times and getting beat in coverage over the middle from the slot position. He was targeted heavily in the 20-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys and really struggled from a coverage standpoint in that game.
But to the Steelers’ credit, they continued to believe in the young corner. In a primetime game against the Jets, Bishop rewarded that belief with a monster night.
Bishop finished with 6 tackles, a tackle for loss and 2 passes defensed, including the 2 interceptions that ultimately changed the game in the Steelers’ favor.
Prior to the performance against the Jets, Bishop had allowed 19 receptions on 28 targets for 215 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Week 5 Sunday Night Football performance against the Cowboys was awful as he allowed 90 yards receiving on 8 targets that night.
But Bishop has bounced back in a big way. Now he’s creating splash plays, too.
Growth is very clear with Bishop.
“You know, he’s grown in all areas. There’s a lot to cover when you’re a rookie, but the one thing I’ll say about him is he never shrinks,” Tomlin said of Bishop. “The situations aren’t too big for him, and he’s learning. He’s open to learning. He has good questions.
“I meet with him every Friday morning as we lean in on situational ball. He’s doing a lot of the little things well, man. He’s on a good trajectory.”
That’s great to hear from Tomlin, who knows a thing or two about coaching defensive backs and developing, since that’s his roots in the NFL.
Things might have been tough at times for Bishop, but he’s weathered the storm. If Sunday’s performance is any indication, better and brighter days are ahead, especially after he came through in the clutch late in the first half with his one-handed interception against Rodgers after the Steelers made a schematic change, according to Tomlin.
That interception changed the game for the Steelers.
“Without a doubt, man,” Tomlin said when asked if the play changed the game. “Two-minute football, we know Aaron’s gonna be aggressive. We switched up the schematics and he made a significant play, he meaning Beanie.”
That’s spot-on from Tomlin.
Bishop needed that one. To do that against a Hall of Famer like Rodgers in primetime in front of a national audience was rather remarkable, too. Hopefully there are more plays like that coming from Bishop during his time in the Black and Gold.
