Having just gone up by two touchdowns with six minutes to play, the Cowboys defense needed someone to step up.
Nahshon Wright stepped WAY up.
The 6-foot-4-inch cornerback went much higher than that, looking like he got launched off a trampoline as he snared Tennessee quarterback Josh Dobbs’s pass out of the air on its way to wideout Robert Woods in Cowboys territory. Wright’s first interception as a pro helped to snuff out a possible Titans rally and eventually seal the Cowboys’ 12th win of the season.
But the 24-year-old, making his first start of the year, took the moment in stride as he spoke with reporters after the 27-13 win.
“I just made a play when it came my way,” Wright said at his locker Thursday night. “That was all, that was it. He just threw it; I went up and grabbed it.”
Wright became the eighth Cowboys defender to log an interception this year, giving the team 15 picks on the season, a mark that’s third-best in the league.
But the 2021 third-round pick out of Oregon State contributed more than just that well-timed takeaway. He also led the team in tackles on the night.
Not bad for a guy who had logged just 59 defensive snaps on the year entering the Week 17 contest.
“It was a zone coverage. I was able to get my eyes back to the quarterback; I originally thought he was going to scramble. But he just threw it up in my area, and I went up and grabbed it,” Wright explained.
“It was an outstanding play that you can make with his skillset, and that’s always been the thing for him,” owner Jerry Jones said Friday on 105.3 The Fan. “Once he gets his confidence, once he gets his technique that you get with more experience, then [we knew] his skillset, his height, his length would make him a unique corner for us. I think that’s coming, and I was proud to see him get it.”
The Oregon State product was pressed into extra service after season-ending injuries to cornerbacks Jourdan Lewis and Anthony Brown and less-than-impressive play from…
..
