{"id":153100,"date":"2023-11-21T11:45:30","date_gmt":"2023-11-21T16:45:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=153100"},"modified":"2023-11-21T07:45:10","modified_gmt":"2023-11-21T12:45:10","slug":"dallas-cowboys-defender-has-prime-chance-to-break-unprecedented-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2023\/11\/21\/dallas-cowboys-defender-has-prime-chance-to-break-unprecedented-record\/","title":{"rendered":"Dallas Cowboys Defender Has Prime Chance to Break Unprecedented Record"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2023\/11\/01\/daron-bland-cowboys-dpoy-candidate\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Daron Bland<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0has a very realistic chance to break an unheard-of NFL record. His fourth pick-six of the season tied an NFL record for most interception return touchdowns in one season. Bland is currently tied with Eric Allen, Ken Houston, and Jim Kearney for most in one season. Bland has a much more realistic shot at putting his name in the NFL history books than many of us realize.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">DaRon Bland&#8217;s Record Tying Four Pick-Sixes Put Single Season Record in His Crosshairs<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">How Realistic Is It?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">DaRon Bland&#8217;s unbelievable defensive performance in 2023 didn&#8217;t begin quite so brightly.\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2023\/09\/21\/possible-replacements-for-pro-bowl-corner\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Trevon Diggs&#8217; ACL injury<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0left Bland as the top CB in Dallas, along with Stephon Gilmore. Bland has demonstrated that he is the leader of the CB room and that he can take away a Quarterback&#8217;s confidence.\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/bleacherreport.com\/articles\/10090376-cowboys-rumors-plans-for-daron-bland-jourdan-lewis-after-diggs-injury-revealed\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">His transition<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> from outside CB to nickel CB is much more difficult than most of us realize. It&#8217;s an uphill battle that Bland has done before.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8220;It wasn&#8217;t really about the record. It&#8217;s really about being in the history books, being remembered,&#8221; <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nfl.com\/news\/cowboys-cb-daron-bland-aims-to-break-single-season-pick-six-record-after-earning\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">said Bland.<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0&#8220;It goes back to high school and playing receiver, always having the ball in my hands,&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The football might just end up in the hands of the former fifth-round unknown yet again on Thursday. The Dallas Cowboys host the Washington Commanders on Thanksgiving, a traditional holiday matchup. The Commanders QB Sam Howell currently leads the <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nfl.com\/stats\/player-stats\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">NFL in passing yards<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">. It&#8217;s a safe assumption to make that Howell is going to let it fly on Thanksgiving. Bland has a chance to capitalize on the pass-heavy Washington offense.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Washington <a href=\"https:\/\/www.teamrankings.com\/nfl\/stat\/passing-play-pct\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">throws the football more<\/a> than any NFL team, and this is cause for Bland to take notes. With a very pass-happy offense, he will see the ball come his way a few times. We&#8217;ve seen him lock up Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson before. A DaRon Bland record-breaking fifth pick-six could be aided by his position change and Howell&#8217;s pass-happy style.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">What Would it Mean for Dallas?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Now just for fun, let&#8217;s imagine Bland just broke the record. High five.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Bland&#8217;s fifth pick-six breaks an NFL record and a Dallas Cowboys record. There&#8217;s no telling what Dallas&#8217; plan is, but a broken record would certainly help Bland stay in town. Bland scoring another touchdown for Dallas would greatly aid in his future Cowboy status.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Bland has\u00a0<\/span><em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">earned\u00a0<\/span><\/em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">every single interception this season. He may not be widely regarded as the best CB in the league, or in the conversation. A fifth pick-six would silence haters, and exasperate Bland&#8217;s wallet. A league-record five defensive touchdowns would pay very large dividends to a\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/sports\/2023\/06\/14\/how-looming-payday-for-cowboys-young-stars-could-affect-dallas-window-of-opportunity\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">DaRon Bland payday<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Bland&#8217;s quite explosive play means that he is climbing Dallas&#8217; priority ladder. His play remains better than that of Stephon Gilmore and Jourdan Lewis. Four more interceptions than Gilmore and nine years younger than the former DPOY. Due to the nature of the business, Dallas may be forced to make an offseason move following a record breaker. All four of Bland&#8217;s pick-sixes puts him on a lonely island in Dallas. No other Cowboy CB is playing on Bland&#8217;s level, and that could spell trouble. CB Jourdan Lewis currently sits in the hot seat.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Bland has a large chance to break a single-season record of interception touchdowns on Thanksgiving. The feat remains doable, but not easy. <\/span><em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">If\u00a0<\/span><\/em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">he sets the record, there&#8217;s a chance Bland becomes an untouchable, earns his paydirt, and another CB ends up on the chopping block. Bland will face Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson in an NFC East matchup. His record-breaking fifth pick-six remains likely against\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nfl\/stats\/team\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Washington&#8217;s 12th overall offense.<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Main Photo: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cowboys CB Daron Bland has tied a Dallas record, recording his fourth pick six in the season. Here&#8217;s what Bland must do to beat the record<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4791,"featured_media":153158,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19,54],"tags":[7422,9870],"class_list":["post-153100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cowboys","category-editorials","tag-dallas-cowboys-news","tag-daron-bland"],"modified_by":"Will Koshover, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4791"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153100"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153100\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}