ARLINGTON, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys (5-7) reaped the reward of delayed gratification in their 27-20 Thanksgiving home win over the NFC East rival New York Giants.
Three-time All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons applied constant pressure and finished with one-and-a-half sacks, but the most impactful defensive plays on Thursday were made by second-year Dallas linebacker DeMarvion Overshown. He was a third-round pick of the Cowboys in the 2023 NFL Draft out of the University of Texas, but his second season in 2024 is essentially his rookie year after he tore his ACL in his second preseason at the Seattle Seahawks in 2023. Fast forward to Thanksgiving 2024, and he was all over the place. He became the first Cowboys player with a pick six and a fumble recovery in the same game since 2002, back when safety Roy WIlliams did so in a Week 17 game at Washington. Overshown is now just the fifth player in Cowboys history to accomplish the feat in a single game.
“Very thankful,” Overshown said postgame on Thursday when asked about his gratitude to play in the Cowboys Thanksgiving game this season. “Just before the game, I was telling myself around this time last year, I was waiting to show people my testimony of when I get back on the field, I’m going to show you what God has truly put into me to go out there, inspire and play like I do. So just being out there on the field healthy, is all I can ask for. With the group of guys that I play with, I love it. I wouldn’t ask to be anywhere else.”
Overshown is from the small town of Arp, Texas, that is roughly 140 miles or so southeast of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. To native Texans like Overshown, playing for the Cowboys in their annual Thanksgiving home game is about as good as it gets.
“Playing on Thanksgiving for the Dallas Cowboys, like I say it really don’t get better,” Overshown said. “I’m blessed. … I don’t take it for granted. I’m truly thankful.”
Parsons, who was the NFL’s most double-teamed edge rusher last season after seeing double teams on 35% of his pass rushes per the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, is also grateful for Overshown. He absolutely lights up when talking about him. After Dallas’ Week 1 victory, Parsons declared Overshown a future All-Pro. He doubled down on that claim on Thursday and even admitted to seeing shades of himself in the second-year pro.
“It helps me a lot,” Parsons said postgame Thursday when asked about playing next to Overshown. … “I told y’all from the beginning, he was going to be a dude. From his rookie year, before the injury, I said, ‘That will be an All-Pro, Pro Bowl-type player.’ I’m just happy he’s finally showing it. I said from the beginning, he reminds me of somebody [myself]. Now, he ain’t [No. 11] yet, that’s Agent 0. He has his own creative identity, and that’s why I like that he’s not trying to be like me. He’s his own special specimen. He’s a wild cat on the field. Man, I love playing next to him.”
Overshown showcased his high level athleticism by deflecting Giants quarterback Drew Lock’s play-action screen pass high into the air before catching it and running it all the way back for a 23-yard interception return touchdown, the first score of his career. That allowed Dallas to regain the lead and go up six, 13-7, with 11:29 left in the first half. His mindset on the game-changing play wasn’t to force a turnover but rather just come away with a tackle for loss or a pass breakup. Once he knocked the football in the air, that’s when he begged his body to hit the turbo button.
“I was really just thinking blow up the play,” Overshown said. “It was a blitz with my number on it, and I just knew I had to make an impact play or at least cause some type of confusion back there. … Actually, when the running back let me loose, I was like ‘there’s some BS going on.’ And then the quarterback threw the ball, and I was like, ‘This is my play to make.’ I was fast enough to get to the tip … I didn’t know, I didn’t know [if I was going to be able to get to the ball], but I was thinking ‘hey, this is a good time to have those afterburners going.’ I was able to kick in some Nitrous, and we were dancing in the end zone after that.”
He also recovered Lock’s fumble following a strip-sack by Cowboys linebacker Eric Kendricks on the opening drive of the second half. Dallas converted that takeaway into seven points after quarterback Cooper Rush hit wide receiver Brandin Cooks for a 2-yard touchdown on third-and-goal. That stretched the Cowboys lead to 10 points, 20-10, which put the Giants in a hole they couldn’t climb out of in the final two quarters.
“That’s what it’s all about, we’re just going to feed off each other, and good things happen when you get to the ball,” Overshown said of his fumble recovery. “That was a play that we really needed. That was a crucial play coming out of halftime. EK making a great play, and I was just there for my brother to clean it up and make sure it was an even better play.”
Kendricks, who is in his 10th NFL season and acts as Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer’s on-field quarterback after playing seven seasons in his defense with the Minnesota Vikings, draws energy from Overshown thanks to his attitude and electric, on-field play.
“D-Mo, man, is a great player,” Cowboys linebacker Eric Kendricks said postgame on Thursday. “He’s one of the best I’ve ever been around. Attitude is just pure, you know what I mean? He loves the game. I love to see it. It motivates me being in my 10th year. … The sky’s the limit. … I’m excited to see what he has in store. … Expect more big games from him this year.”
His play is microcosm for Dallas’ defensive improvement the last weeks with the Cowboys now winners of two in a row following a five-game losing streak.
“Definitely, he’s got so much in front of him,” McCarthy said of Overshown. “Just think, as you see not only him growing, but the defense is. As you get players back, their connection is there but their continuity and consistency is starting to really take a step each and every week. Outside the two-minute defense, I thought we played really well and have us in position. We were in a three-score game there for a while. Yes, I think he really is just a reflection of how I think the defense is rolling.”
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Author: Garrett Podell
November 29, 2024 | 1:45 am
