Not many players can say their first two NFL interceptions came off of a four-time MVP and future Hall of Fame quarterback. But Steelers cornerback Beanie Bishop Jr. can say exactly that after the undrafted rookie recorded his first two career picks against Aaron Rodgers during Pittsburgh's win over the New York Jets on Sunday night.
After the game, Bishop told NBC Sports that he was hoping to get Rodgers to sign his two prized possessions. On Tuesday, during his weekly appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show," Rodgers was asked if he would be willing to oblige.
"Yeah, I can do that," Rodgers said.
Bishop, who earned a starting role in Pittsburgh's defensive backfield coming out of training camp, had two of the game's biggest plays Sunday night, as his two picks resulted in two Steelers touchdowns. The first occurred late in the first half and helped Pittsburgh trim its deficit to two points at intermission.
His second, which occurred shortly after the Steelers took a one-point lead early in the second half, set up Russell Wilson's short touchdown run that extended Pittsburgh's lead. Trailing 15-6 early, the Steelers eventually rolled to a 37-15 win, with Bishop's takeaways playing a key role in the outcome.
While it was a career night for Bishop, the same couldn't be said for Rodgers and the Jets (2-5), who are hoping to get things turned around this weekend against the 1-6 New England Patriots. Things aren't currently looking great, but Rodgers is using past experiences to help him navigate through his and his team's current situation.
"We've been in this spot before," Rodgers said, via NFL Media. "We, meaning myself and some of the guys I've played with. There's the semi-famous R-E-L-A-X statement that was after three weeks going into Week 4 (of the 2014 season) where we turned it around. But people maybe forget about 4-6 in 2016 when we weren't playing well at all, and went though a rough stretch and just got kind of waxed in Tennessee and came back home and we ran the table. Won eight straight and went to the NFC Championship Game, eventually losing to Atlanta. But that was a fun, fun stretch.
"We got hot and we started to believe. The power of belief is a snowball that can start an avalanche. And that's what we need and it starts with me."