Unconventional Steelers defender the key to a win vs. Jets in Week 7

The grind doesn’t stop for the Steelers as they prepare for their second primetime game of the season. This time, they take on the Jets, a team many expected to be better this season. That said, all of their losses have been close, and this seems like a unit that is only a couple of plays from being 4-2 instead of 2-4. With Davante Adams now joining the fold, it could get them over the hump.

As for who on the Steelers needs to shine, the obvious answer is at quarterback. It seems likely that Russell Wilson, for reasons, will assume the starting job. Naturally, his play will be key in the outcome of this game, but I would expect another timid offensive showing to protect him this week.

Instead, the defense gets the spotlight this week, and one player in particular could kill the team on Sunday. No matter how the Jets configure their offense, I don’t see a great matchup on paper for this player. He needs to at least hold his head above water if this defense wants to keep Pittsburgh alive this week.

The Steelers need to have a good game from Beanie Bishop

It has been a pretty up and down season for Beanie Bishop, as you would expect for an undrafted rookie in his first year playing. While he had some great college tape, expecting Bishop to excel as a rookie shouldn’t have been in the cards. Instead, some steady plays and the occasional wow moment that he could use to propel himself into the starting role long-term was the hope.

That hasn’t happened. He has gotten better every week and has started to showcase that physicality that he was famous for at West Virginia. His coverage has been lacking, but he hasn’t killed the team by allowing huge plays. That could change this week.

All three of the Jets receivers can play out of the slot, and all three are dangerous. New addition Adams will likely spend most of his time outside, but he has taken snaps in the slot on occasion. Garrett Wilson is a similar story, although he has slightly more usage inside. Both are elite players, and Bishop will likely have fits trying to cover them.

The Jets primary slot receiver is no comfort to the team either. Allen Lazard takes up that role, and he does well as an inside receiver. He has great size at 6’5 and nearly 230 pounds. Bishop is half a foot shorter and almost fifty pounds lighter.

Lazard has also rekindled his relationship with Aaron Rodgers and looks efficient again. In addition to being the second-leading receiver on the team, he also has five scores, a further testament to how he can hurt a defense. The size mismatch doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence either, and it will be a tough player for Bishop to cover.

We don’t need an elite day out of Bishop for the Steelers to win. Expecting that would be silly, as he has been very average as you would expect an undrafted rookie to be in his first year. That said, he can’t be picked on or burned this week. Bishop needs to stay at least average and he can’t turn into a liability. If he does, the Jets could feast out of the slot and control the ball.