Tag: October

Steelers’ CB Beanie Bishop Jr. named Defensive Rookie of the Month

Steelers’ CB Beanie Bishop Jr. has become one of the team’s best 2024 acquisitions so far, and was named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month.

K Chris Boswell isn’t the only Steelers player to earn recognition for his performance in the month of October. Rookie CB Beanie Bishop Jr., who seems to improve each week, has been named the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Month for his outstanding play in October. 

Bishop turned heads in Week 7 when he intercepted four-time MVP QB Aaron Rodgers not once, but twice. In Week 8, the rookie intercepted QB Daniel Jones, sealing the victory for his team. The young slot cornerback has admirably filled what appeared to be an area of concern for the Steelers heading into the 2024 season. 

With veteran CB Cameron Sutton, whose natural position is also in the slot, returning from suspension in Week 10, no one can truly justify benching Bishop after the rookie’s dominant performance in October.  Fans of the Steel City are more than excited to see what the future holds for the undrafted rookie.

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Steelers’ K Chris Boswell named AFC Special Teams Player of the Month

Steelers’ K Chris Boswell has been named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for his elite play in October.

The ‘Wizard of Boz’ strikes again!  Pittsburgh Steelers’ kicker Chris Boswell has been named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Month in back-to-back months for his excellent performance and contribution to his team’s 6-2 record. The NFL announced Boswell’s accomplishment on Thursday morning, and this award is well-deserved.

This is now the third time Boswell has earned the illustrious AFC Special Teams Play of the Month award, with his first selection dating all the way back in December/January of the 2015 season, and his second selection being last month in September of the 2024 season. Boswell has kicked with an impressive 89.0% accuracy on his field goal attempts, hitting on 254 out of 289.

Steelers fans, including myself, are truly lucky to be able to witness arguably one of the greatest kickers of all-time tearing it up for the Pittsburgh Steelers on any given Sunday.  Can Boswell do the unthinkable and earn three consecutive AFC Special Teams Player of the Month awards?

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Early-season stumbles are par for the course for Sean Payton’s Saints

The New Orleans Saints have historically struggled in September under Sean Payton, but there’s reasons to expect their usual October bump.

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Another year, another slow start for the New Orleans Saints. After handling their business in the season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tom Brady, they dropped losses in each of the following weeks to the Las Vegas Raiders and the Green Bay Packers by a combined margin of 71-54. New Orleans also lead the NFL with 24 fouls for 331 penalty yards, further evidence of their sloppiness out of the gate.

Unfortunately, that’s been the norm since Sean Payton was hired to coach the team. Under his management, the Saints are 25-22 during the month of the September, usually the opening games of each season; but their record jumps to 38-13 in October, reflecting the in-season adjustments he and his staff have made year after year.

Put another way, that’s a leap from a September winning percentage of .532 all the way up to .745. Over the course of a full season, that’s the difference between an 8-7-1 regular season record and a 12-4 finish. That’s, uh, significant.

So don’t lose faith yet, even if the Saints are making it easy to doubt their process. There’s plenty of time for Drew Brees to get in better sync with his weapons (especially once Michael Thomas is back in the lineup), and for the pass rush to wake up from whatever’s put Cameron Jordan to sleep — returning third-year defensive end Marcus Davenport should help with that.

The Saints are set to visit the Detroit Lions before returning to New Orleans for another prime-time game with the Los Angeles Chargers, and both teams have 1-2 records.

There’s a world where the Saints go into their Week 6 bye with a 3-2 record, before coming out the other side and going on a tear. But they have a ton of work ahead of them if we’re going to see it.

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