Cornerback Amani Oruwariye’s blunder in a 27–20 loss to the Bengals was reminiscent of two previous Dallas miscues.
Memories of Leon Lett’s
snowy goal line blunder in 1993 resurfaced on Dec. 9 as a similar special teams gaffe cost the Dallas Cowboys in a
27–20 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Dallas had a chance to win the game when linebacker Nick Vigil
blocked a punt with 1:59 remaining, but Cowboys cornerback Amani Oruwariye misplayed the bouncing ball and Bengals linebacker Maema Njongmeta recovered, giving Cincinnati possession.
“AO was in a vice situation,” Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy
told reporters afterward. “And then, he heard the roar of the crowd and when he turned—he understands the rule once the ball crosses the line—his response was when he turned, when he heard the crowd, the ball was there and he reacted to it. So, obviously a big play in the game.”
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow made the Cowboys pay with a 40-yard game-winning touchdown pass to wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase. Lett’s touching the ball after a field goal block in 1993 likewise resulted in Miami regaining possession and
kicking a field goal to beat the Cowboys 16–14.
This latest one could cost the Cowboys much more with the playoffs on the line. Climbing out of a 4–8 hole in the NFC playoff race will require “a tremendous amount of help” from other teams potentially stumbling late in the season as McCarthy put it.
“Just do the math,” McCarthy said. “Obviously, we’re not even back to even. We’re still in a hole. So we need a tremendous amount of help. Just being Captain Obvious here.
“This one stings. We had to have this one. That’s the way we approached it.”
Despite the consequences of Oruwariye’s mistake, McCarthy and company didn’t pile on the blame. Some players and owner Jerry Jones instead focused on the decision to block versus taking a routine punt return.
“I’m sure that there’s low odds of the ball bouncing into one of our players after we touch the ball on a block,” Jones
told reporters afterward. “There’s low odds, but I don’t know if those odds are more positive than if we'd have taken the kick and gotten the ball and got within field goal range and kicked the ball.”
Jones has seen similar plays in his time as owner, including Lett’s mishap and former cornerback Nahshon Wright
touching the ball after a Denver Broncos punt in a 2021 loss,
30–16. Unlike Monday’s mistake, in the two prior instances the Cowboys had winning records with better playoff odds.
Cowboys players showed understanding for Oruwariye’s high-profile blunder and kept reporters from talking with him during the open locker room session. That included cornerback C.J. Goodwin, another special teams regular, who stood with Oruwariye the whole time.
Fellow cornerback Jourdan Lewis also defended Oruwariye.
“None of us played a perfect game,” Lewis
told reporters. “You can’t judge anybody by one decision.
“He thought he can make a play. Can’t judge him for that.”
