Two Sundays ago, Pittsburgh Steelers rookie CB Beanie Bishop Jr. had a rough night against the Dallas Cowboys. Head coach Mike Tomlin was not surprised that teams were targeting the young rookie, but it was still tough to see Bishop struggle the way he did.
Bishop bounced back the next week on the road against the Las Vegas Raiders. Steeler Depot’s Alex Kozora charted him as being targeted 4 times and allowing 2 receptions for 5 yards. It’s always a good to see a rookie cornerback not get lost in his own head.
But Bishop took that to a whole new level on Sunday night against the New York Jets. Just two weeks later, on the same field under the same lights that he struggled against the Cowboys, Bishop had two game-changing interceptions off Jets QB Aaron Rodgers. So how did he get his confidence back and keep it going forward?
“It means a lot, but I still gotta go out next week and prove that I’m a capable player,” said Bishop after the Steelers’ 37-15 win Sunday night per video from Steelers.com. “Obviously teams are going to still attack me because I’m the young guy in the group and we have great veterans. Minkah, Deshon… guys like that. Kazee’s really been in my ear a lot, telling me just go out there and play ball. Be you, you not here for no reason.”
So much of playing in the NFL is mental. Safety Damontae Kazee would know that as an eight-year veteran. And cornerback requires a high degree of mental fortitude. Every cornerback in NFL history has gotten beaten multiple times. It’s all about how you bounce back.
So Kazee has taken it upon himself to remind Bishop that he isn’t in the NFL by accident. Even as an undrafted rookie free agent, Bishop gave the Steelers reason to sign him, keep him on the roster, and start him. There is a reason for Bishop to be playing in the NFL.
Aaron Rodgers and the Jets found that out the hard way on Sunday night. The Steelers needed both of those interceptions, too.
The Jets were leading 15-6 with under 2 minutes to go in the first half and looking for more points. Rodgers dropped back on 2nd-and-4 from the Jets’ own 34 and looked for WR Garrett Wilson up the middle of the field in Steelers’ territory. Bishop turned and reached out with one hand to snag the ball right before colliding with Wilson.
EZ look at Beanie INT #Steelers pic.twitter.com/Mwwor8dNIN
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) October 21, 2024
That interception set the Steelers up with good field position and a chance at reducing the deficit. The Steelers’ offense under QB Russell Wilson turned the interception into an 11-yard touchdown pass to WR George Pickens.
The Steelers then took a 16-15 lead halfway into the third off a K Chris Boswell field goal. Rodgers then got the ball at his own 23 looking to retake the lead. On 2nd-and-10, Rodgers looked Wilson’s way again.
Wilson got a couple of yards of separation on Bishop but bobbled the ball up in the air. Bishop corralled the bouncing ball and returned it all the way to the 1-yard line. That set up a Wilson pass to Van Jefferson, and the Steelers never looked back.
Beanie, baby! #Steelers #NFL pic.twitter.com/dJhawBL713
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) October 21, 2024
Bishop not only logged his first career interception, but he did it twice against one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL in recent history. It’s quite the turnaround from two weeks ago, and Bishop knows that he’ll continue to get targeted as the Jets did.
But having players like Kazee remind Bishop that he’s playing for the Steelers for a reason will help him navigate those issues. Bishop was productive at West Virginia with 4 interceptions and 20 passes broken up in his final college year. That’s a big part of why the Steelers brought him in after the draft.
And hopefully, Bishop will prove he does belong in the NFL and continue to make impact plays in Pittsburgh for a long time.
