Pittsburgh Steelers rookie CB Beanie Bishop Jr. had himself a game last night, against Aaron Rodgers, no less. Coming into the game with zero interceptions, he exited with two. Both plays drew attention, but for different reasons. His first interception was an impressive one-hander. While his second came off a ricochet, his teammates most talked about how he finished—or rather, how he didn’t.
“Guys were giving me hell about not running fast, but I told them, have they ever seen Le’Veon Bell run the ball? It’s patience”, Bishop joked, speaking to reporters after the 37-15 win over the New York Jets, via the Steelers’ website.
Bishop is referring to former Steelers RB Le’Veon Bell, who during his time here built a reputation. He had a surprisingly methodical rushing approach, which only happened to work because the Steelers’ offensive line managed to adapt to it.
The second interception came off a ball Rodgers threw over Bishop’s head. But the ball bounced off Jets WR Garrett Wilson’s chest, and Bishop claimed the rebound. He certainly made use of his blockers, which prompted teammates to call him Deion Sanders. But Davante Adams managed to track him down just short of the goal line.
While he caught the ball at the 42, Bishop ran considerably more than 41 yards. He crossed from the right side of the field to the left, cutting through the entire offense. He wasn’t listening to his coaches. “Coaches, they got on me earlier this week. They were like, ‘Man, don’t cut back in there with all the offensive linemen!’. I’m like, ‘Why not? Those guys don’t work on tackling’”, he said. Oops.
But if you’re picking the ball off and setting up the offense for easy scores, it’s hard to nitpick. And especially for Beanie Bishop Jr., this is a moment to celebrate. A rookie college free agent thrown into the fire, he has had his share of adversity on the field. But he has responded well in recent weeks, yesterday marking his best game.
In addition to his two interceptions, Bishop also made several other plays, showing an ability to tackle above his weight. Steelers fans hoped for in him a more agile version of Mike Hilton. While the jury is still out there, he is showing resilience, and adaptability to the learning curve of the NFL
That doesn’t necessarily mean that Le’Veon Bell’s running style is best suited for all defensive returns. But while Bishop fell just short of the end zone, he got close enough to it. The offense, going four-for-six in the red zone on the night, capitalized on that opportunity.
The Steelers only play one more game before Cameron Sutton is eligible to return from suspension. That gives Bishop one more opportunity to state his case to stay on the field, maybe even continue starting. Picking off a couple passes will certainly help his case, but it’s down-in, down-out consistency that is most important. And, of course, Aaron Rodgers’ signature.
Aaron, please sign Beanie’s balls.
