Cowboys' DaRon Bland Follows Up NFL Record Breaking Stretch With Awful First Half, But That's Not The Full Story
This one writes itself: Somewhat anonymous backup Dallas Cowboys cornerback (as anonymous as one can be playing for America's Team) is pressed into service and has the months of his life, breaking an NFL record. Then amid the respect and regard the feat merits, he follows up with the worst half of his career.
It sounds like storybook turned into fake news stuff. Except it happened Thursday evening to Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland.
And, luckily for him, that's not where the tale ends.
Bland Gives Cowboys First Half Play To Forget
The Cowboys cornerback generally had a rough night on Thursday Night Football against the Seattle Seahawks. The man who took over the position Trevon Diggs manned until the moment he blew out a knee was simply torched by the Seattle Seahawks and receiver D.K. Metcalf in the first half.
Torched is the technical term for giving up six completions on seven attempts for 138 yards and 2 touchdowns as the closest defender to the ball. All in one half of football.
The two TD passes Bland yielded in that first half was more than one he allowed in his first 12 games of the season.
It's a performance Bland simply could not escape because it was on a national streaming telecast.
"Yeah, they definitely went after the one-on-ones outside and hit some plays," Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said afterward.
"Didn’t have a great first half, you know," Bland added in understatement. "Just tried to make it up in the second half. That’s all it was."
DaRon Bland and Dak Prescott look at turkey legs after a Thanksgiving Day win. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Image Of Sport/Getty Images)
DaRon Bland Is Cowboys And NFL Record Holder
The stunning part here is only hours before kickoff, the NFL named Bland the NFC defensive player of the month for November. And part of that acknowledgment comes because last week Bland collected his fifth interception return for a touchdown -- an NFL record for one season.
So this first half turned Pick Six DaRon into Picked On DaRon.
But the beauty here is football is a 60-minute game played in two halves. (Unless you're the kooky English playing their football over 90 minutes with a round ball and no pads and, yeah, I digress.)
In the second half Bland recovered. He tightened up his coverage. He gave up no TD passes.
And he collected a key interception. It was his NFL-leading eighth interception of the season.
“Adversity is a good thing," McCarthy said. "You have to have it. You're going to have it, you can’t avoid it - it’s the National Football League. This will be a great experience for him. He's wired the right way.
"I mean, he didn't change. He played all the way to the last whistle there. So, this will be good experience for him."
DaRon Bland of the Dallas Cowboys celebrates with teammates after intercepting a pass in the win versus the Seahawks. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
A Comeback Is Always Possible
Bland, in his second season, didn't seem shell shocked after the game. He accepted that the first half was bad and focused on the second half and the Cowboys' eventual victory.
"You know, when we stick together we can do amazing things," Bland said. "Like we showed in the second half. We stuck together and made the plays."
This, by the way, is a classic statement about sports and the people who compete. They're going to lose on a team and individual level. But if they do not quit amid a tough time, the chance for a recovery and even an eventual victory remains.
That gives competitors like Bland the chance to leave even his opponents admiring their work.
"I thought we played very well against him," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said of Bland. "We didn't want to throw the ball to him that one time. We shouldn't have done it, that's our mistake."
"He's having an incredible year. Total hat's off to the dude. He's a terrific football player. Deserves all the credit that he's getting. It's really hard to do what he's doing. I have great respect for that."