Early in the fourth quarter on Oct. 16 in Los Angeles, the Dallas Cowboys faced a second-and-goal from the 2-yard line. Up to that point in the season, the Cowboys had the third-worst red zone offense in the NFL. Their big offseason acquisition on offense, Brandin Cooks, had yet to score a touchdown.
When the ball was snapped, Los Angeles Chargers safety Derwin James Jr. came off the left edge on a blitz. Tony Pollard, who started to the right of Prescott, swung to the left and picked up the blitz. The extra two seconds bought Cooks enough time to run across the field and let Prescott hang in the pocket. Touchdown.
Most people watching that play saw it as Cooks’ first touchdown as a Cowboy. When Cooks watched that play on the plane ride back, he saw Pollard’s block. Later in the week, Cooks called Pollard to the front of the room to recognize him for his efforts on the play. Both players signed the ball and it was stored away in a room at the practice facility.
“Just showing that everybody’s important,” Pollard said. “Everybody is needed. We all have different jobs on different plays. Some may not get the recognition or attention but just having him go up there and call me, it did just (let me know) that my contribution to that play was accounted for.”
PRESCOTT TO COOKS. @DallasCowboys take the lead
📺: #DALvsLAC on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/cKH8Z3jhNB pic.twitter.com/VdX89XRFkG— NFL (@NFL) October 17, 2023
On that particular play, it just so happened that the critical block that enabled the touchdown for Cooks came from another front-facing member of the team in Pollard. That isn’t always the case. Cowboys center Tyler Biadasz has been called to the front twice this season, once by Jake Ferguson and another time by CeeDee Lamb.
“It can be for any reason, really,” Biadasz said. “It doesn’t matter. It’s just kind of something unique … the moral of it is that whoever scores the touchdown gets to pick whoever they want, doesn’t matter whatever the reason is. … It doesn’t have too many reasons of why, because you, whoever scored, gets to pick that why.”
The honorees don’t even just stop at the linemen, who usually don’t get the recognition they deserve. Tight ends coach Lunda Wells has been called up. And it goes beyond the commonly known position coaches on the staff, too. Will Harriger, who is an offensive assistant/quality control coach, was summoned to the front of the room by Cooks following the Cowboys’ home win over the Washington Commanders on Thanksgiving.
“Will had a really cool design for a play that he was really pushing for,” Cowboys offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said. “It was a little double move that Brandin caught a touchdown on. Those two had been talking about some of those things. I know it caught me by surprise that he did it but Will was just blown away.
“Here’s a guy that works incredibly hard. He’s here later than almost anybody, just trying to come up with ideas and plays and draws all the passes and all of that stuff. For Brandin to recognize Will — everybody calls him Ball Game — it just shows you each and every person in that room has value, and tremendous value. We’re all a part of our success.”
The beauty of the tradition is how it’s evolved organically. At first, there were more frequent trips to the front for Prescott as he was naturally the catalyst for a lot of players scoring touchdowns. Schottenheimer said it would make Prescott a little uncomfortable, given he is the quarterback and already gets more pub, for better or worse. Eventually, players started to recognize that the purpose was to find the deeper roots, whether it be a certain coach or staffer or one of the big guys up front.
“Linemen don’t score many touchdowns but they’re always involved,” Schottenheimer said. “It’s one of our favorite days of the week. We have fun with it. I think the players really appreciate when their teammates call them up there and want to get them recognized. We give them pictures to go along, we hang them up in the rooms. It’s really been cool.”
Let them Cook(s) 🤝 @dak ➡️ @brandincooks for the TD!
📺: #WASvsDAL on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/N5H8Nc0xKc pic.twitter.com/WiTYcrkG0g— NFL (@NFL) November 23, 2023
While the offense gets much of the shine for this tradition, mostly because it’s scoring most of the touchdowns, Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn was actually the one who started a tradition of this sorts with his side of the ball. When DaRon Bland was broached about the topic, he was already familiar with it.
Meanwhile, special teams coordinator John Fassel has his own leaderboard running for healthy competition among his unit. The intensity to finish atop of those rankings was ratcheted up in recent weeks as the regular season came close to ending. In the end, safety Juanyeh Thomas won the “500-point club” for his contributions. Going into the season finale against the Commanders, Thomas was tied with Hunter Luepke (who has been called up to be honored on offense by Pollard). Sam Williams, Jalen Tolbert and Israel Mukuamu rounded out the top five.
“It’s always cool to chart throughout the season,” Fassel said. “There’s a lot of pride in that. They make a big deal out of it, at the end of the year and going into next season. We keep a history board of who won and how many points.”
It’s hard to win games in the NFL if the players on the field don’t have the talent. However, when the playoffs begin, all of the teams remaining, to various extents, have talent on the field. The Cowboys, who had seven players get Pro Bowl nods, are no different. Prescott’s arm and Lamb’s hands are the catalysts, as is Micah Parsons’ tenacity and Brandon Aubrey’s leg.
Team camaraderie, though, is a real factor. When combined with the prerequisite talent and ability, it can help propel a team further to the top.
“I think that’s all part of the secret sauce of a healthy culture, no doubt about it,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “I love this locker room. I think these guys have really, not just this year, have really invested in themselves, the commitment that we have to one another. At the end of the day, it’s about the man next to you.
“That’s just how we roll. That’s how we’ve rolled all year. We’re looking forward to taking our game out there Sunday and getting after it. And it definitely starts and ends with our locker room. I think we’ve invested a tremendous amount in our guys and like I said, I think we’re in really good shape there.”
Teams have different ways of getting creative, trying to find ways to inject an element of fun into what is, at the end of the day, a kid’s game while also ensuring that everybody who deserves credit feels the appreciation and that an entire group of highly-paid athletes with different levels of ego can come together for one common mission.
Fassel has resorted to quirky gifts and an involved leaderboard for his special teams unit. For the Cowboys’ offense, their weekly tradition has played an integral role in maintaining that culture.
“The cool thing for us is that it’s filling up,” Schottenheimer said of the space they put all the footballs in. “It’s about time to get another one, which is good. I think the five from (the Commanders game) might put us over the top. … It’s a true brotherhood. It’s true love and it’s real. I can honestly say, 23-plus years in the league, I don’t think I’ve ever been in a situation where it’s that strong and tangible.”
(Photo of Tyler Biadasz and Tony Pollard: Bob Donnan / USA Today)
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