The Dallas Cowboys picked up a dominating victory over their NFC East rivals in the Washington Commanders on Thanksgiving Day. A game that was competitive for three quarters turned into a blowout, as the Cowboys outscored the Commanders 25-0 in the fourth quarter, leading to a 45-10 win.
One of the scores in that decisive fourth quarter came courtesy of cornerback DaRon Bland. He recorded a 63-yard pick-six off of Sam Howell, a play that resulted in Bland landing in the NFL history books.
It was his fifth pick-six of the season, the most a single player has ever recorded. He tied the previous record of four on Sunday afternoon when he returned a pass from rookie Bryce Young to the house in a defeat over the Carolina Panthers.
Eric Allen, Jim Kearney and Ken Houston were all tied with four, setting their records in 1993, 1972 and 1971, respectively. Bland was tied with them for five days before moving into first place by himself following his performance on Thursday.
“It’s great, especially on this day,” Bland said. “Another thing to be thankful for.”
There isn’t another team in the NFL that has as many defensive touchdowns as Bland does on his own. The Indianapolis Colts are the closest, as they have three defensive scores this season.
Some offensive stars haven’t even found the end zone as frequently as the Cowboys’ cornerback. After scoring for the fifth time, Bland has more touchdowns than Kansas City Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce, New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley and Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs.
Highly touted Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts, the No. 4 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, has only four touchdowns in his career. Bland is in a league of his own when it comes to scoring touchdowns, as he is having one of the most dominant and memorable defensive seasons in league history.
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