Former Lions CB Has All-Time Blunder, Costs Cowboys

A former Detroit Lion made a crucial mistake on Monday Night Football, leading to him drawing ire from Dallas Cowboys fans.

The primetime showdown between the Cowboys and Cincinnati Bengals was tied and going down to the wire, as the Bengals were getting set to punt the ball back to Cooper Rush and the Cowboys with two minutes remaining. However, former Lion and current Cowboy Amani Oruwariye made a critical mistake.

The Cowboys blocked the punt, sending the ball to the turf off a ricochet. Had the Dallas return unit not touched the ball, it would've got prime field position for a game-winning drive. However, Oruwariye tried to scoop and score the losse ball but couldn't corral it. As a result, the ball bounced back into the hands of the Bengals.

An all-time blunder by Amani Oruwariye on the blocked punt😬 pic.twitter.com/9C1jH7IuQP
— All-22 (@All22_PFF) December 10, 2024

Cincinnati would recover the loose ball at its own 43-yard line. After a completion to Andre Iosivas and a 10-yard gain by running back Chase Brown, Joe Burrow hit Ja'Marr Chase for a 40-yard touchdown to give the Bengals the lead with 1:01 remaining in the game.

After the game, which the Cowboys lost 27-20 after a late drive came up short, Oruwariye's teammates had his back and offered words of encouragement.

"Big plays happen and everybody sees it," said cornerback Jourdan Lewis, via the team's website. "We have to stay with him and keep encouraging him. We don't want that moment to define him. We have to stay behind him. That's just football. Some things roll your way and some things don't. I can't blame him trying to make a play."

Oruwariye broke into the league as a fifth-round pick of the Lions in 2019, and he played four seasons for the organization. He had a breakout year in 2021, as he picked off six passes. However, he was a healthy scratch for a stretch the following season after some early struggles, and was not retained when his contract with the team expired.

The Penn State product spent last season with the Jacksonville Jaguars and began this year on the Dallas Cowboys' practice squad before being called up to the active roster.