It was a banner month for Boswell and Beanie. The NFL named Pittsburgh Steelers K Chris Boswell AFC Special Teams Player of the month and CB Beanie Bishop Jr. Defensive Rookie of the Month for their stellar October performances.
For Boswell, he has been honored with the award in September and October.
Boswell’s excellent season continues. He was perfect this month, hitting all 12 of his field goals and all 10 of his extra points. That included going 4-for-4 in wins over the Las Vegas Raiders and New York Giants, putting up points when the Steelers’ offense faltered.
For the year, Boswell has made 23-of-24 field-goal attempts. His only miss came from 62-yards out before halftime against the Los Angeles Chargers in September. He leads the AFC in field goals and is tied for the NFL lead alongside Washington’s Austin Seibert. Both are on pace to break the NFL single-season record for field goals in a season currently held by the San Francisco 49ers’ David Akers in 2011, who finished the year with 44.
Bishop had an impressive end to the month. He’s picked off three passes in the last two games, all crucial takeaways. His first interception came off New York Jets QB Aaron Rodgers right before halftime in Week 7, setting up a Steelers touchdown that closed the gap at the break. Pittsburgh dominated in the second half to win, 37-15. Bishop picked Rodgers off twice that night, nearly returning the latter for a pick-six. He became only the second rookie to ever intercept Rodgers twice in one game.
He clinched the Steelers’ win over the New York Giants last Monday night, picking off an errant throw by QB Daniel Jones in the final minute to secure a 26-18 victory. Since the merger, he is one of only two Steelers undrafted rookies with three interceptions in their first year, joining Tony Dungy in 1977.
It’s been a week of Steelers awards. In addition to these two, EDGE T.J. Watt and WR/PR Calvin Austin III were named respective AFC Defensive and Special Teams Players of the Week for their performances against the Giants. Watt had two sacks, a forced fumble, and fumble recovery while Austin returned a punt 73 yards for a touchdown, the team’s first punt-return score in five years.
Bishop is the first Steeler on either side of the ball to be named Rookie of the Month since Najee Harris was honored in October 2021. He’s the first defensive player chosen since LB Kendrell Bell won it twice in 2001, October and November.
Around the rest of the conference, Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson was named AFC Offensive Player of the Month with Houston Texans DE Will Anderson beating out Watt for AFC Defensive Player of the Month. Denver Broncos QB Bo Nix was named Offensive Rookie of the Month.
The Steelers are 6-2 at the bye and atop the AFC North. They’ll take on the Washington Commanders in Week 10.
