When it rains, it pours for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Their primetime game against the Dallas Cowboys amounted to a dud. Their offense couldn’t capitalize on opportunities, and their defense blew big moments throughout the night. Even though the Steelers defense forced three turnovers, their overall play was too inconsistent. One of the players who struggled the most was Beanie Bishop Jr. Mike Tomlin seemed to chalk that up as just something that happens in the NFL.
“I think we all know that [Bishop’s] gonna get targeted,” Tomlin said during his press conference after the game. “I think [Bishop] knows he’s gonna get targeted. He’s a young guy in the huddle. Such is life in the NFL as a defensive back.”
That could not have been more true against the Cowboys. Bishop had a rough day in all aspects of the game. He was getting scorched in coverage, and also committed penalties that really hurt the Steelers. When the Cowboys needed to make a play on third down, it felt like they were always looking Bishop’s way. Even on the final touchdown that won the Cowboys the game, it looked like Bishop got lost in coverage, although it’s a little early to say for certain.
The loss isn’t all on Bishop, though. He was a problem, but the Steelers were riddled with issues in Week 5. Tomlin doesn’t seem to be blaming him, either. He’s an undrafted rookie corner. If he was good enough to walk on the field and not make any mistakes, his background would be different.
Bishop didn’t have a great Week 4. It looked like he got lost on a touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts, which doesn’t help his performance this week. That’s back-to-back rough weeks for the Steelers and Bishop. With so much talent on defense, it makes sense that opposing teams would attack him.
Like Tomlin says, that’s just part of life in the NFL. The key is that Bishop will need to respond well to his performance this week. If he continues to get picked on, it’s going to be tough for the Steelers to keep putting him out there. Whether he’s a young guy or not, Tomlin won’t tolerate those mistakes for long, especially if the Steelers continue to lose.
