Cole Bishop To Bring Utah ‘Next Man Up’ Mentality To AFC Championship
Jan 24, 2025, 1:07 PM
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS - JANUARY 5: Cole Bishop #24 of the Buffalo Bills holds his helmet against the New England Patriots during the third quarter at the Gillette Stadium on January 5, 2025 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The Patriots won 23-16. (Photo by Rich Gagnon/Getty Images)
(Photo by Rich Gagnon/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – Former Utah safety Cole Bishop had the ‘Next Man Up’ mindset instilled in him during his time as a Ute. Now, on football’s biggest stage, he will need to channel that mentality as the Bills face the reigning two-time champion Kansas City Chiefs.
Buffalo’s starting safety Taylor Rapp will be sidelined in the AFC Championship with a hip injury. With other players in the secondary also dealing with injuries, Bills head coach Sean McDermott turned to Bishop.
Coach McDermott has ruled Taylor Rapp out for the AFC Championship game.#BUFvsKC injury report: https://t.co/wXjRtz6VZN pic.twitter.com/6uwjaXxHzF
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) January 24, 2025
Regardless of Bishop’s rookie status and the fact that most of his action this season has been on special teams, McDermott has faith in the young safety.
“Yeah, (my confidence is) high,” McDermott said. “He’s a young player, but at the same time, he’s grown. He went through an injury in training camp, missed a lot of time — that set him back, set his growth back, delayed it at least — and then came in, and he’s grown through each experience, and confident he’ll continue to do that moving forward.”
Bishop has played in 16 games this season and posted 40 total tackles (25 solo), one forced fumble, and two pass breakups.
He has already started in four games this season due to injuries, none bigger than the one on Sunday. Still, Bishop is ready for the task at hand.
Cole Bishop on defending Travis Kelce, Chiefs air attack: “It’s not just him — they got a lot of threats…. being able to locate threats by formation and adjust to it.”
With Taylor Rapp (hip) missing Thursday #Bills practice, Bishop might get the start in a big spot #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/vifl4rmUc8
— alex brasky (@alexbrasky) January 23, 2025
“It’s easy to say it’s just like any other game, but everybody knows it’s really not,” Bishop said. “So being able to just prepare throughout the week, and then once Sunday comes, like you’ve done everything you can, so there is really nothing you can be nervous for. You prepared, and now you’ve just got to go make plays.”
The Chiefs and Bills are featured in the nightcap of championship weekend. CBS will broadcast the game with a 4:30 p.m. MT kickoff. Paramount+ will also carry the game.
RELATED: KSL Sports Insiders And Writers Predict AFC Championship Game
About Cole Bishop
Before his time at the University of Utah, Bishop was a standout player at Starr’s Mill High School. The Peachtree City, Georgia native began his career with the Utes in 2021.
In his first two years at Utah, the defensive back helped the Utes win consecutive Pac-12 Conference titles and make back-to-back appearances in the Rose Bowl Game.
Bishop played three seasons at Utah. As a senior in 2023, the safety had 60 total tackles, 35 solo tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, two interceptions, five pass breakups, one forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries in 11 games played.
Feeling more comfortable every week.@Cole_Bishop_8 breaks down his rookie season: https://t.co/I9Es2bmaxC@TimHortonsUS | #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/u92cOs6PlN
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) December 19, 2024
In 35 games with the Utes, Bishop totaled 197 total tackles, 117 solo tackles, 21.5 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, three interceptions, 14 pass breakups, one forced fumble, four fumble recoveries, and one blocked kick.
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