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First Call: Beanie Bishop called his game-winning interception; refs tell Steelers OLB he was legal on punt return TD | TribLIVE.com
Steelers/NFL

First Call: Beanie Bishop called his game-winning interception; refs tell Steelers OLB he was legal on punt return TD

Tim Benz
Tim Benz

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Steelers cornerback Beanie Bishop Jr. intercepts a pass intended for Giants running back Devin Singletary to put an end to Monday night’s game in Pittsburgh.

Tuesday’s “First Call” gives us the predictive powers of Pittsburgh Steelers rookie Beanie Bishop. Jeremiah Moon explains why he didn’t get flagged on Calvin Austin’s punt return.

We get a look at the Penguins’ next opponent beyond the return of Marc-Andre Fleury.

Plus, we have honors for both Robert Morris men’s hockey and the Duquesne football team.

Calling his shot

If there is one thing undrafted Steelers rookie Beanie Bishop doesn’t lack, it’s confidence.

The cornerback out of West Virginia claims that he called his game-ending interception to close out his team’s win on “Monday Night Football” over the New York Giants.

“I told Alex Highsmith that I was going to end the game on that drive. That’s just something that I pride myself on. I’m just trying to go out there and get a stop to end the game,” Bishop said. “When I get my turnovers, they come in bunches.”

That’s certainly been the case for Bishop these past two weeks. He got two interceptions last week against the New York Jets as well. He’s now tied with Donte Jackson for the team lead with three.

After Bishop’s pick, the Steelers took one knee and left the field 6-2, heading into their bye with a 26-18 win.

Above board

Many people outside of Pittsburgh — including Peyton and Eli Manning during the ESPN ManningCast — thought the Steelers got away with roughing the punter on Calvin Austin’s touchdown return in the third quarter.

Based on that video, those people have a good argument. It sure doesn’t look like Steelers linebacker Jeremiah Moon was blocked into Giants’ punter Matt Haack en route to making contact with Haack’s plant leg.

After the game, though, Moon claims the officials told him that his play was clean.

“I had talked to (the officials) about it,” Moon said after the game. “They said I didn’t roll or anything. I went for the block. I just stopped, and (Haack) just fell over me. I mean, (the official) was standing right there. He would’ve made the right call if I would’ve roughed the punter. I didn’t hear anything from the punter or anyone. I think it was clean.”

When asked for comment on the non-call from the officials, all Giants coach Brian Daboll could muster up was, “They’ve got a tough job to do.”

The Giants were penalized 11 times on the night. The Steelers only drew five flags.

Farewell Fleury

As former Penguin Marc-Andre Fleury prepares to suit up for his final game in Pittsburgh on Tuesday night, his Minnesota Wild come in playing pretty good hockey.

Fleury and his teammates are 5-1-2 on the year. That’s good for 12 points, third place in the Central Division. Fleury has one of those wins and one of the losses. All of the other decisions in net have gone to Filip Gustavsson. He was originally drafted by the Penguins in 2016.

Gustavsson’s 2.17 goals against average is No. 12 in the NHL so far this season. Fleury has a 2.89 goals against average and a .900 save percentage with a 1-0-1 record. His 375 wins with the Penguins are the most in team history. His 561 career victories overall are second-best only to Martin Brodeur.

Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov has 15 points, tied for sixth-most in the NHL. At 3.63 goals per game, the Wild are ninth in the NHL. Their power play success rate of 30.8% is fifth in the NHL.

Meanwhile, the Pens have lost five in a row and are 15th out of 16 teams in the Eastern Conference with only seven points.

More hardware

Duquesne quarterback Darius Perrantes was honored again by the NEC for another standout weekend.

Perrantes was named the conference’s offensive player of the week for his 412-yard outing at Stonehill on Saturday. The Dukes won the game 48-34. Perrantes tossed five touchdowns and hit seven passes over 20 yards.

This is a program-record sixth time that Perrantes has won a Player of the Week award from the NEC and the second time this season. The senior from Los Angeles was also tabbed by the conference in Week 6 after throwing five touchdowns and rushing for one in a victory over Long Island University.

Kicker Brian Bruzdewicz was also named special teams player of the week. He accounted for a season-high 12 points Saturday with a pair of field goals and six PATs.

Captain Craig

Robert Morris hockey captain Michael Craig was named Defenseman of the Week in Atlantic Hockey America.

The sophomore blueliner scored twice and picked up two assists in last weekend’s home-and-home series against the Niagara Purple Eagles. During Friday’s home game, he registered an assist as the Colonials lost 7-3.

In Saturday’s road rematch, Craig had another assist and two goals in the third period to rally a comeback from down 4-2.

Craig’s efforts forced a tie in overtime. Eventually, RMU won the shootout courtesy of a goal from Walter Zacher.

A native of St. Catharines, Ontario, Craig has now tallied three goals, 13 assists and 16 points in his collegiate career. RMU is 2-1-1 on the season with two home games against Lindenwood coming up this weekend.

Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via X. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.

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