What's DaRon Bland's 'Celebration Plan'? WATCH Record Pick-6 Interception Helps Dallas Cowboys in 33-10 Win

Author:
Harrison Reno
Publish date:
Nov 19, 2023 4:06 PM EST

In this story:

The Dallas Cowboys haven't exactly dominated the Carolina Panthers for four quarters, despite them being one of the worst teams in the league, yet back-to-back touchdowns have made it a blowout. ... with the final score 33-10.

DaRon Bland was a pivotal guy here, with his fourth pick-6 of the year - that ties an NFL record - and his sixth interception of the season and his 11th over the past two seasons (most in the NFL.)

"I didn't have a celebration planned,'' said a smiling-but-mellow Bland in a nationally-televised postgame visit on Fox.

Before all of that ...

After punts from each team opened the second half, the Panthers recorded their longest drive of the season, going 70 yards in 17 plays before finding the endzone for the first time on Sunday as Bryce Young found his tight end Tommy Tremble for a four-yard score.

With the Panthers cutting the Cowboys' lead to just a touchdown, that is where quarterback Dak Prescott and co. went to work. After Prescott completed four of his five passes for 45 yards, a CeeDee Lamb seven-yard run was followed by an explosive 21-yard touchdown run from Tony Pollard.

Pollard, the former fourth-round pick, hasn't had the type of season many envisioned when the Cowboys cut Ezekiel Elliott this past offseason. Coming into Sunday, Pollard hadn't found the endzone since the Week 1 win versus the New York Giants and had just 529 yards rushing on 135 carries.

Dallas Cowboys cornerback Daron Bland (right) intercepts Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young's pass.

Then, with the Cowboys' lead back up to 14 points, it'd only take one more play from scrimmage for Dallas to add an insurance touchdown, as standout second-year cornerback DaRon Bland recorded his fourth pick-six of the season and his sixth interception.

Bland's 30-yard interception return for a touchdown extended the Cowboys lead to 30-10 before another Young turnover, this time a fumble, helped the Cowboys tack on a 27-yard field goal to make it a 23-point lead.