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Bishop, Boswell receive big honors
Steelers cornerback Beanie Bishop and kicker Chris Boswell have been beyond impactful and today, they got their just due for their efforts.
Bishop was named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month and Boswell was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for their performances during October.
Bishop, an undrafted free agent out of West Virginia, had three interceptions in two games.
Bishop didn’t just have his first career interception, but had two interceptions against New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, a future Hall of Famer, in a Week 7 win at Acrisure Stadium.
“Can’t say enough about young Beanie Bishop,” said Coach Mike Tomlin after the gane. “That’s an awesome evening for him to get his first two interceptions versus a Gold Jacket guy like Aaron Rodgers.
“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. The situations aren’t too big for him, and he’s learned and 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. He’s on a good trajectory.”
Bishop finished the game with six tackles, including one for loss, and two interceptions. Bishop’s first interception came in the second quarter, when he picked off Rodgers at the Steelers 46-yard line, down 15-6. The offense was able to capitalize, with Russell Wilson engineering a four-play, 54-yard drive that ended with an 11-yard touchdown pass to George Pickens, sending the Steelers into the half down just 15-13.
After the Steelers took a 16-15 lead early in the third quarter, Bishop came through again. He intercepted Rodgers at the Jets 42-yard line, returning it 41 yards before getting caught at the one-yard line. Wilson took it in from the one on a quarterback sneak to extend the lead to 23-15.
“He’s one of the Hall of Fame quarterbacks,” said Bishop. “Got a lot of respect for that guy and just to be able to get not one but two of them off of him is crazy.”
In the Steelers Week 8 win over the New York Giants on Monday Night Football, it was Bishop who would come through at the end, intercepting Daniel Jones at the Steelers 29-yard line, sealing the win with just 34 seconds left to play and the Steelers holding on to a 26-18 win. Bishop finished the game with five tackles, including three solo stops, and the interception.
Boswell picked up in October where he left off in September, when he was also named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Month.
In a Week 5 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, Boswell hit a 41-yard field goal, his only attempt of the night.
He followed that up with a four-field goal performance against the Las Vegas Raiders, including a long of 52 yards, his sixth 50+ yard field goal of the season. He also added field goals from 49, 37 and 36 yards.
In the team’s Week 7 win over the New York Jets, Boswell connected on three field goals. He got the Steelers on the board with a 46-yard field goal, and then added two more, one from 29 yards and another from 21 yards out.
Boswell wrapped up his second stellar month with three field goals against the New York Giants on Monday Night Football, all in the first half. Boswell hit from 31, 25 and 27 yards.
“We have a program that we follow,” said special teams coordinator Danny Smith. “He and I communicate on that. He has input as well, as all players do. I’m not saying I’ll do it, but I’ll listen. We arrive at a program. It’s been very good and it’s working. We’ve done some different things the last two years. We don’t kick 48 hours before game anymore. We started that last year.
“He and I work through those things, and it’s been a real good relationship and he’s really playing well.”
Since joining the Steelers in 2015, Boswell is 254-289 on field goal attempts (87.0%).
This is the third time Bozwell has won AFC Special Teams Player of the Month, previously doing so in December/January in 2015 and September 2024. Boswell was previously named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week three times in his career, including Week 1 this season against Atlanta. He won the honor in Week 6 of the 2015 season and in Week 13 of the 2017 season.
During the month he was 12-for-12 on field goal attempts and 10-for-10 on extra point attempts, something that has become routine for him as he is having a spectacular season.
