Cowboys star CB fails to take accountability after awful MNF performance

The Dallas Cowboys spent a fortune to re-sign cornerback DaRon Bland to a four-year, $90 million extension in August prior to the start of the season.

The move was one that many fans felt was well deserved, as Bland finished 2023 as the NFL's interception king with nine picks while breaking the new single-season pick-six record with five interceptions returned for touchdowns.

Injuries limited him in 2024, but as a result of the extension, Bland carried some major expectations with him into this season as a lone bright spot on Dallas' defense after the Micah Parsons trade. Unfortunately for the one-time All-Pro though, his latest performance was one to forget.

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Two weeks after a highlight-reel pick-six against the Washington Commanders, Bland had one of his worst performances in recent memory in Monday night's 27-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, as he allowed Marvin Harrison Jr. to finish with a career-best seven catches for 96 yards and a touchdown.

DaRon Bland's Meaningless Answer About Defensive Struggles

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. runs against Dallas Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland in the second half at AT&T Stadium. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

After the game, Bland spoke to the media about the loss but hardly seemed to care about taking any responsible for letting

"They didn't do nothing differently, we just got to play better," Bland said, per the Cowboys YouTube channel.

Bland was then asked what he can learn from the loss.

"Just play better," he said. " ... Got to get on the same page."

Instead of taking accountability for giving up some big plays in the passing game, Bland gave the same old meaningless answers about what went wrong.

Bland ended up finishing with a game-high 14 total tackles, though this was mostly a result of chasing down receivers from behind.

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In Bland's defense, cornerback is arguably the second-toughest position to play in football, but that's not a legitimate excuse when you're one of the highest-paid players on the team.

Maybe outside cornerback isn't where he should playing exclusively, with some more attention toward the slot potentially being an option.

Bland will have a chance to bounce back when the Cowboys visit the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 11 after the bye.

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