Amari Cooper praises Dallas Cowboys' culture after win

The Dallas Cowboys are off to a great start in 2021, having won three of their first four, and star wide receiver Amari Cooper chalked much of their success up to the team’s culture.

The Cowboys appear to be the team to beat in the NFC East, at least this early in the season. The Cowboys lost in narrow fashion to the defending champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1, falling just 31-29, but proceeded to string together three-straight statement wins against the Los Angeles Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles and most recently the Carolina Panthers. Cooper finished the game against Carolina catching all three of his targets for 69 receiving yards and a touchdown.

“We’re building a great culture,” Cooper said after the win Sunday. “I can’t even really explain it, but it feels like something special is going to happen.”

Cooper also made it clear in the postgame press conference that he’s impressed with both the Cowboys’ youth and the team’s depth. The Cowboys have drafted remarkably well the past few seasons; they added another excellent wideout alongside Cooper in CeeDee Lamb, and they also drafted Trevon Diggs in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, a player who’s on pace to be an All-Pro. Diggs was named September’s NFC Defensive Player of the Month just last week, then proceeded to notch two more interceptions on Sunday — bringing his NFL-leading total to six.

“If I break down whenever I won a championship, whatever sport I was playing, the common theme was depth,” Cooper said.

Diggs contributes to a deep defensive rotation, as Cooper noted. He picked off Carolina Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold twice on Sunday. In doing so, he etched his name into Dallas Cowboys’ history books: he’s the first Cowboy since 1961 (Don Bishop) with an interception in each of the first 4 games of a season, and he’s the first Cowboy since 1968 (Chuck Howley) with five interceptions in the team’s first four games of a season.

Quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Ezikiel Elliot both had terrific days on Sunday, making Cooper’s job easier. Prescott completed 14 of his 22 pass attempts for 188 passing yards and four touchdowns, while Elliot had 20 carries for 143 rushing yards and a touchdown, including a long rush of 47 yards.

Cooper and the Cowboys will look to continue their hot streak, as they have not lost since Week 1. Next up, they’ll play host to a fellow NFC East rival in the New York Giants, fresh off their first win against the New Orleans Saints, at 4:25 p.m.