WATCH: Game Ball to Coach Dan Quinn; Cowboys Celebrate Revenge Win over Falcons
ARLINGTON - Dallas’ 43-3 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday was important for a lot of reasons and important to a lot of people. But a symbol of it all was personified by one member of the Cowboys crew.
And that's why, after the 40-point blowout here at AT&T Stadium, the Cowboys collected in the winning locker room to get the game ball into the right hands.
The hands of Dan Quinn.
"It’s good to have that game done and over with,'' Quinn said after the outing, recalling his many friendships in Atlanta, developed over the course of half-a-decade as the Falcons head coach, a stint that included a Super Bowl berth. "It’s the fun part of the NFL. There’s always good rivalries between coaches and players.
"There’s a lot of guys on that roster and in the building I certainly care about a lot."
But now, the guys who care a great deal about him are on the Cowboys roster and in the Cowboys building.
Quinn is now the defensive coordinator in Dallas, of course, and he received the honor after his defense held Atlanta to just a field goal. That was part of it; the numbers.
But the other part of it was the emotion. Yes, if you want to theorize that Dallas kept scoring, maybe just a little bit, for Quinn, you could do that. If you want to theorize that his personal style causes him to be a beloved figure - by players and coaches in Atlanta and Dallas? Yes, you could theorize that, too.
All of the circumstances created a perfect emotional storm here. Last week's blowout loss at the hands of Denver. "The Watermelon Kick'' loss from a year ago, with Quinn as the head coach, losing to Dallas here at AT&T Stadium. The firing that came after that.
The loss in the Super Bowl four years earlier, despite his Falcons holding a 28-3 lead over the Patriots that they, and him, could not keep.
Here, Quinn’s guys held Atlanta to just 214 total yards, to season-worsts in first downs and third-down conversions, and to just three points. Dallas recorded three interceptions on defense, and the Dallas offense had so much fun setting records that QB Dak Prescott ended up with a bruise and a cut on his face from a "dangerous hug.'' (Story here.)
Arthur Smith, the man who replaced Quinn in Atlanta, credited Dallas with burying his Falcons under what Smith termed “an avalanche.”
The avalanche came from a mountain-sized win. Dan Quinn’s former team was under it. His new team is at 7-2 atop that mountain … with Quinn sitting right up there, embracing his game ball..
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