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Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland makes NFL history with fifth pick-six vs Commanders

Nikki Chavanelleby: Nikki Chavanelle11/24/23NikkiChavanelle
daron bland cowboys
Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Sports

Dallas Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland made NFL history on Thanksgiving Day by running back his fifth pick-six of the season in the waning minutes of the win against the Washington Commanders. Already leading 38-10, Bland cut off his receiver, picked off Commanders quarterback Sam Howell and ran the ball back for a touchdown to put the Cowboys up 45-10 with 4:39 left to play.

The Cowboys’ leader in interceptions last season with five, Bland is now the first player in NFL history to notch five pick-sixes in a single season, surpassing the record he tied just last week.

Only three other NFL players have grabbed four interceptions and returned those for a score in one season – Eric Allen (1993), Ken Houston (1971) and Jim Kearney (1972). Bland had seven games to get No. 5 but only needed one more.

Memorable Thanksgiving for Bland

Over the last two seasons, Bland has recorded 12 interceptions. He began starting this season when the Cowboys lost Trevon Diggs to an ACL injury. Diggs, an All-Pro, had 14 in his first two seasons, including a league-leading 11 in his second season with Dallas.

After recording his fourth pick-six last week, Bland told reporters he was eager to break the record, but even more to be “remembered.”

“It just makes another goal to break it,” Bland said after the win over the Panthers, via DallasCowboys.com. “I think it was when I touched the end zone, it was like, ‘Wow, I just did it. I tied the record.’

“I’m level-headed now and I want to go break it. It wasn’t really about the record. It’s really about being in the history books, being remembered.”

The Cowboys drafted him with the No. 24 pick in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. After the injury to Anthony Brown last year, he proved to be a critical piece for Dallas.

After starting the year 2-2, Dallas has rallied back to win four of its last five games, including last week’s 33-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers to improve its record to 7-3. As for Washington, it’s been a different story with four losses over five games after last week’s 31-19 loss to the New York Giants. With the win on Thanksgiving, the Cowboys move to 8-3, but still trail the 9-1 Philadelphia Eagles in the race for the NFC East. Next week, Dallas faces the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football.