Life still moves pretty fast for T.Y. Hilton.
It took exactly half a workout on Dec. 12 for the Cowboys coaching staff to see that the 33-year-old could give the team a boost at wide receiver heading into the home stretch of the regular season and what they hope is a long playoff run.
On Dec. 24, in his first game wearing the star, it took all of one catch for Hilton to endear himself to Cowboys Nation.
Hilton’s first catch for the club (and his only reception in his Dallas debut) has all the makings of a play that will live on in the annals of franchise history, moving the sticks and extending a key fourth-quarter drive in improbable fashion, helping set up a game-tying touchdown against a hated rival, and sparking his new team to a win that leaves a division crown- and even the NFC’s top seed- still mathematically possible.
But even if that doesn’t happen, the four-time Pro Bowler made a ridiculous first impression on Cowboys fans with a moment that will forever be known as “3rd-and-30.”
T.Y. HILTON IS BACK pic.twitter.com/rbanLgyC7a
— PFF (@PFF) December 24, 2022
“They called my personnel,” Hilton told reporters at his locker Saturday night following the 40-34 Cowboys victory. “I was running, [Eagles cornerback Darius] Slay was kind of, I guess, eyes-in-the-backfield, and I was like, ‘Man, if Dak [could] give me it…’ And then the ball just took off. And I was like, ‘Well, here we go.’
Prescott’s heave traveled 62.1 yards in the air. Next Gen Stats pegged the completion probability at a 22.5%. Third-and-30 plays historically have a 2% success rate since 2000.
But never tell T.Y. Hilton the odds.
“I just hit the gas and ran past him,” he explained. “I can still play. If you think I can’t play, then that’s on you.”
The team’s WR1 agrees.
“That’s T.Y. A very exciting player. Has been his whole career. For sure, a deep threat. Don’t let the size fool you; the speed will sneak up on you,” CeeDee Lamb confirmed.
Lamb also senses that Hilton’s presence just opened up new opportunities for him, too.
“You keep trying to double me, I have playmakers on the outside.”
It does appear that after ten years as a fixture in Indianapolis, the football world perhaps gave up too soon on the former third-round draft pick out of Florida International.
But Prescott certainly knew what the newest weapon in his arsenal could do, even after just a few practices together.
“That’s a guy that has made a lot of big-time catches in his career,” the quarterback said in his postgame press conference.
“I knew to put some air under it, and I knew he would go make a play. Either that or an incompletion, and he obviously went and made a catch. Third-and-30, find T.Y.”
Hopefully, that situation doesn’t come up too often. But with one clutch 52-yard reception, the Cowboys saw very quickly what Hilton can still bring to the table, both on and off the field.
“Obviously, T.Y. is extremely talented, extremely proven, has played at a Pro Bowl level multiple years, so obviously these types of situations are unique: for him to be available and for our organization themselves to get a deal done,” Dallas head coach Mike McCarthy shared. “You couldn’t find anything but extremely high praise for him as the far as the phone calls that were made. He’s been everything plus. He’s come in here and just grinded on our coaches and learned the language. The biggest thing is, he’s a very polished route runner. He’s done it at a high level, I like the way he’s integrated himself into the group. He’s a great fit for us.”
Whether he’s pulling coverage away from Lamb, drawing the occasional penalty with his veteran craftiness, or providing experienced leadership to a young wide receiving corps on the sideline and practice field, Hilton has already proven to be everything the team said they wanted during their pursuit of free agent Odell Beckham, Jr.
The difference, of course, is that Hilton stepped in and made a game-changing difference while the calendar still said December.
“That’s what I do, man. I just make plays. That’s what I’m here for. I’ll continue to make plays, continue to guide those guys and help them as much as I can. And when I get out there, just show them that I’m still here,” he said.
But look quick, because, as T.Y. Hilton showed Saturday night, he can still can go from here to there really, really fast.
And he might just be the missing ingredient that takes the Cowboys over the early-postseason speed bump that’s stymied them for a quarter-century.
“If I’m able to do that, then the sky’s the limit for us.”
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