Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland celebrated his NFL-record fifth interception return for a touchdown in the Salvation Army red kettle, as his teammates picked him up and put him in it. The celebration continued after the game with a turkey leg on the field followed by a game ball from coach Mike McCarthy in the jovial locker room.
“That was NFL history in there,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. “I’ll tell you this: I’ve never seen a group of young, older men and coaches any more excited to be a part of something like that record that [Bland] had than the genuine cheering and seeing them congratulating and enjoying it with him. It meant something to everybody in that room, and of course, he’s just Mr. Humble.”
In the fourth quarter, Bland jumped a Sam Howell pass intended for Jahan Dotson. Sam Howell, Terry McLaurin and Brian Robinson had shots at keeping Bland out of the end zone, but he made it the 63 yards necessary to break an NFL record he had shared with Eric Allen (1993), Ken Houston (1971), and Jim Kearney (1972) since last week.
It was the exclamation point on the Cowboys’ 45-10 win over the Commanders.
“Actually, I wanted to show my teammates my return skills,” Bland said. " That’s what they said, ‘We’ve seen a lot of pick-sixes. We [need] to see one with return skills.’ Hopefully, I showed them. . . . I wasn’t going to be denied on that one.”
Only 21 offensive players in the NFL have more than five touchdowns this season, and Bland is the first non-offensive player to score five touchdowns in a season since then Texans edge rusher J.J. Watt in 2014.
No NFL defensive player has ever scored six touchdowns in a season.
On the Cowboys, only receiver CeeDee Lamb has scored more touchdowns this season than Bland, and 15 NFL teams don’t even have even one receiver with five touchdowns. Bland has as many touchdowns this season as all the Patriots wide receivers combined.
Bland’s other touchdowns this season covered 22 yards against Daniel Jones, 54 yards against Mac Jones, 30 yards against Matthew Stafford and 30 yards against Bryce Young.
Bland, a fifth-round draft pick in 2022, has seven interceptions this season and 12 in his two seasons. Both lead the NFL.
“It means a lot,” Bland said of the record. “That was one of my biggest things, show the kids back home you can do it. Whatever it is you put your mind to, you can do it.”
