'It's My One Chance!' Dallas Cowboys vs. New England Patriots Notebook: DaRon Bland an Interception Star?
Was Week 3's game at State Farm Stadium a one-off? After an embarrassing loss to the Arizona Cardinals a week prior, the Dallas Cowboys turned their shame onto the helpless New England Patriots at AT&T Stadium Sunday, using two defensive touchdowns in the second quarter to cruise to a 38-3 blowout win.
The Cowboys got back to the dominant version that the NFL saw during the first two weeks of the season, as Dallas' defense harassed the New England offense for the entire game after the Pats had scored their only points on their first drive of the game.
Here's a few takeaways from the win:
Bland bags a pair, continues impressive pace Cowboys second-year cornerback DaRon Bland is beginning to look like a star in Dan Quinn's secondary. He picked off Patriots quarterback Mac Jones twice on Sunday, one of which went back 54 yards for a touchdown at the end of the second quarter. On the first drive of the second half, Bland got his second after Jones tossed it right to him on a 4th and 2.
"It's my one chance to act like a receiver,'' said Bland. "I'm definitely trying to score!''
Actually, it was his two chances. To total his eight chances. What do we mean?
Bland now has eight picks since last season, the most in the league in that span, per Fox's broadcast. The Cowboys may have lost Trevon Diggs for the season, but Bland has shown that he's more than capable of having elite production in his place.
No 28-3 against Dan Quinn this time Legendary Patriots coach Bll Belichick suffered the worst loss of his 29-year NFL coaching career on Sunday. With no Tom Brady at the helm and trailing 28-3 in the third quarter, New England wasn't able to mount a comeback against Quinn like it did in Super Bowl LI.
Dallas Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland (26) celebrates an interception with his teammates in the fourth quarter against the New England Patriots at AT&T Stadium.
© Tim Heitman, USA TODAY
Dak responds Dak Prescott didn't have to do much while his defense put on another masterclass, but he remained steady and efficient against a Belichick-led defense. He finished the day 28 of 34 passing for 261 yards and a touchdown. The one score was a nicely-placed 20-yard ball to CeeDee Lamb at the left pylon in the first quarter to give Dallas the lead for good at 10-3.
He'll need a similar, turnover-free performance if the Cowboys want to beat the San Francisco 49ers in Week 5.
Zeke's Return Former Cowboys All-Pro running back Ezekiel Elliott made his "return" to Arlington on Sunday as a member of the Patriots. Reports from NFL Network prior to the game stated that Elliott could get starter reps against his former team, but this never came to fruition in a blowout.
In his fourth game as a Patriot, Elliott finished with six carries for 16 yards and two catches for six yards.
Ferguson's career day Cowboys second-year tight end Jake Ferguson had a career-high 77 receiving yards on career-best seven catches against the Patriots. Both marks led the Cowboys in Sunday's win.
