DaRon Bland is garnering a reputation for two things. One is the low-key businesslike demeanor with which he conducts himself, on and off the football field. Even after a record-tying effort against Carolina, the Cowboys’ second-year cornerback shrugged it off as- literally- just another day at the office.
“Just doing my job, the kind of stuff I feel like I’ve kind of been doing,” Bland said following the team’s 33-10 win. “I always felt it myself, so it never really hit me because it felt like just another day.”
But there’s a very small handful of guys who have ever had a day quite like Bland did on Sunday, which brings us to the second thing he’s become known for.
His fourth-quarter interception return for a touchdown was his fourth of the season. Only three other players in NFL history have had that many pick-sixes in a single campaign: the Eagles’ Eric Allen in 1993, the Chiefs’ Jim Kearney in 1972, and the Oilers’ Ken Houston in 1971.
But none of them did it in 10 games.
Houston needed two return scores in the 1971 season finale- the team’s 14th game- to set the record. A year later, Kearney scored his fourth in Week 12. And in 1993, Allen had just two pick-sixes heading into the 15th game of the 16-game season.
Amazingly, Bland has seven more games to do it again and have the record for himself.
“It just makes another goal,” he admitted Sunday, “just to break it.”
As it is, the cornerback is tied for second place- trailing only CeeDee Lamb, no less- for the Cowboys lead in touchdowns thus far this season.
“He’s scoring touchdowns. At that point, he’s a part of the offense when he’s getting in the end zone as much as he is,” quarterback Dak Prescott noted in his postgame press conference.
Bland’s latest score came after making an incredible catch, using just his fingertips to snatch out of midair a pass intended for Panthers receiver Jonathan Mingo. Bland admitted that Mingo originally had him beat on the route.
“I’d seen him running under, and he kind of had a step on me at first,” he explained. “So I had to catch up, and then once I caught up and I turned, I saw the ball, and I was like, ‘Yes. I’ve got to go get this one,’ because I only had about three targets, so I had to make the most of my opportunities.”
THE PICK-6 KING DARON BLAND DOES IT AGAIN.
đź“ş: #DALvsCAR on FOX
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/jckqnJwdb2 pic.twitter.com/GQhL47ZBnd— NFL (@NFL) November 19, 2023
Bland laid out and completed a rather-acrobatic somersault as he completed the catch, joking later, “There were some cheerleaders in my family.”
But then once he realized he hadn’t been touched, muscle memory kicked in from the former high school wide receiver.
“When I got that ball, when I got up, I was like, ‘I’ve got to go. I’ve got to just find the end zone again,” he said. “Having to actually run the ball and having to actually make some moves. Getting up like that, you don’t really get a return like that.”
Except Bland does, with startling regularity.
In fact, he told Erin Andrews of FOX Sports after the game went final that he had even called his shot prior to kickoff.
“I told my teammates I was gonna go out and get one today.” 💪@ErinAndrews is with Daron Bland after tying an NFL record @dallascowboys pic.twitter.com/0377HR65KQ
— NFL on FOX Podcast (@NFLonFOXPod) November 19, 2023
“He said, ‘I told you I was going to get one,'” Prescott confirmed for media members. “I said, ‘I didn’t know you were going to score.’ His expectations, his standards, he said, ‘That comes with it.’ That’s just great to hear. That’s what he believes in. Ball guy. You put it near him, inaccurate with a throw- trust me, I’ve known it from the time he showed up, just practicing against the guy- he’s a big-time playmaker. He’s doing a hell of a job.”
The fifth-round draft pick out of Fresno State even has Micah Parsons- arguably the most dominant defender in the game since entering the league three seasons ago- campaigning for the 24-year-old to win some hefty postseason awards.
“Seeing him come into his own is truly special. Remarkable. He’s having a Defensive Player of the Year year. He should be a lock for All-Pro; it shouldn’t be a question,” Parsons told reporters. “It’ll be fun to see how he finishes this year.”
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Bland is currently tied for the 2023 league lead in interceptions (six, along with Baltimore safety Geno Stone) and already has more interceptions since the beginning of last season than anyone.
And come Thursday, he’ll square off against Washington quarterback Sam Howell, who has thrown an NFL-most 12 interceptions this season. That’s tied with Buffalo’s Josh Allen, who the Cowboys will face in Week 15. Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa, Detroit’s Jared Goff, Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts, and Seattle’s Geno Smith all have more than seven picks this season, too; those teams just happen to be the Cowboys’ remaining opponents.
So Bland should certainly get his chances at a few more really good days at the office.
Asked if pick-sixes have become “his thing,” Bland, just 27 regular-season game appearances into his career, gave an embarrassed smile and a typically aw-shucks response.
“I guess so.”
And then he went back to work.
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