DaRon Bland has NFL-leading 8th interception for Cowboys after getting burned by Seahawks

Updated Dec. 1, 2023 1:06 a.m. ET

Associated Press

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — DaRon Bland added to his NFL-leading interception total with a nifty pick, though that didn't really make up for the big plays against the Dallas Cowboys cornerback before they rallied to avoid their first home loss this season.

Bland didn't return this one for a touchdown — he already has the NFL record with five picks returned for scores — but his eighth interception of the season late in the third quarter ended a streak of three consecutive TD drives for the Seattle Seahawks.

“Nah, it ain’t nothing special,” Bland said about that pick. “I didn’t have a great first half. Try to make it up in the second half, that's all it was.”

The Cowboys failed to convert that into a go-ahead score, but Dak Prescott's 12-yard TD to Jake Ferguson and ensuing 2-point conversion with 4:37 left propelled them to a 41-35 victory Thursday night.

Seattle (6-6) entered the game without an offensive touchdown on its previous 20 possessions.

That streak ended in a hurry against Dallas (9-3) and Bland. DK Metcalf beat the corner for a 73-yard catch-and-run touchdown on the Seahawks’ opening drive for a 7-3 lead.

Metcalf later had a 34-yard catch against Bland to the Cowboys 23, though Jason Myers missed a 42-yard field goal attempt after a delay of game penalty backed the Seahawks up 5 yards.

“This is an excellent offensive perimeter group that came in here,” Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said. “We’ve got a lot of respect for what we saw in the game plan process. They went after us, we went after them and at the end we got it done in the fourth quarter. They definitely went after the one-on-ones outside and hit some plays.”

The Seahawks led 21-20 at halftime on Metcalf’s 1-yard TD catch in the final seconds. They were there after a 29-yard pass interference call against Bland in the end zone, on a play that was initially ruled a touchdown before a replay review determined no catch and the ball was placed on the 1 for the penalty.

On their touchdown drive before that, Jaxon Smith-Njigba spun away from Bland for an 11-yard gain on third-and-5 near midfield.

That was 118 yards on just those three big plays and a 29-yard penalty against Bland by halftime.

“The talent that we have at receiver, we’re not afraid to go against, you know, anybody,” Smith-Njigba said. “They have great, good players over there. We’ve got good players. So, kudos to him, he made a good pick. We made our plays too and wish we had a couple of more.”

The first of Metcalf's three touchdowns marked the first time this season that the Cowboys trailed at home. They had won each of their previous five games at AT&T Stadium by an average margin of 29 points — the closest being 20 points.

Bland got his interception with 2:56 left in the third quarter, outleaping Tyler Lockett at the Seahawks 38. The Cowboys failed on a fourth-down conversion before Seattle drove for its last score.

“We admire that because we know certainly in the NFL you’re going to get beat, especially at corner. You have to have a mentality to take that proverbial butt-kicking that you can get it accomplished,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. “And then you gotta have the desire and just the will to have that play in you after you had a rough night and boy he had it.”

Dallas extended its home winning streak to 14 games, with NFC East-leading Philadelphia (10-1) visiting next on Dec. 10.

The Eagles on Sunday host San Francisco (8-3), which beat Dallas 42-10 on Oct. 8 and leads the Seahawks in the NFC West.

“When you stick together, we can do amazing things,” Bland said. “Like we showed in the second half, we stuck together and made the plays.”

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