FRISCO, Texas — Caleb Downs was in coverage on 29 of his 61 defensive snaps in his NFL debut and allowed 1 reception. Quarterbacks had an 87.5 passer rating when targeting him.
After practice Friday at The Star, two days before the Dallas Cowboys host the Washington Commanders in their home opener, Downs was asked about the coverage plays he came close to making in Sunday’s 28-20 loss to the New York Giants.
“Close don’t pay the bills,” Downs said.
Through one week, PFF graded Downs at 68.9 overall, which ranked 25th among 82 qualified safeties. His coverage grade of 59.4 ranked 43rd. Against the run, he graded 72.9, 10th at the position. His 81.1 pass-rush grade ranked fourth.
Downs, the 11th overall pick in April, started in the slot at MetLife Stadium. He finished with 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 1 tackle for loss, and 7 combined tackles. His 4 solo tackles tied for the team lead.
Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart went 23-of-29 for 230 yards, 3 touchdowns, and no interceptions.
Caleb Downs’ Strip Sack Against the New York Giants
In the second quarter, Downs blitzed past the right tackle and dropped Dart for an 8-yard loss at the Dallas 36, knocking the ball loose on the hit. New York recovered at the Dallas 34.
Dallas forced four fumbles on the night and recovered one.
“One positive thing I think we did, we did take some great shots on the ball, but the ball just didn’t bounce our way,” Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “Caleb had an awesome strip sack fumble and it goes right to their guy. And we strip a ball from Skattebo, it bounces right back to him. That was one of the few positives that we did.”
Downs said Sunday night that the result outweighed anything he did individually.
“I mean, at the end of the day, in football it always just comes down to who does their job better,” Downs explained. “We’ve got to do our jobs better as a defense and as a team. We get that fixed, and we’ll be good.”
New York converted 9 of 11 third downs, went 4-for-4 in the red zone, and gained 394 yards. The Giants held the ball for 36:40. Dallas had it for 23:20.
“That’s always frustrating as a defense when you don’t get off the field,” Downs said. “I mean, that’s part of the job, and we didn’t do it at a high level today.”
Over the opening two possessions, Dallas held New York to 1 rushing first down on 6 carries. The Giants picked up 10 rushing first downs the rest of the way.
Caleb Downs, Dallas Cowboys Turn to Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders
Safety Malik Hooker is out Sunday after surgery Tuesday on a fractured forearm. Linebacker DeMarvion Overshown is also out with a hamstring injury. Against New York, Jalen Thompson played all 69 defensive snaps at safety, and P.J. Locke played 28.
Schottenheimer said this week that Locke, not Downs, is the plan at safety while Hooker is out.
“We love P.J. Locke,” Schottenheimer explained. “I think Caleb played really, really well. Caleb’s a guy that can move around, but we like him down near the line of scrimmage.”
Washington also opened 0-1 with a 24-22 loss at the Philadelphia Eagles. In that game, Jayden Daniels completed 18-of-34 passes for 164 yards and 2 touchdowns. He ran for 31 yards. The Commanders ruled out linebacker Frankie Luvu (groin) and tight end Chig Okonkwo (hamstring) on Friday.
Seeing what went wrong against the Giants and fixing it during the week was the plan Downs laid out after the opener.
“You watch the film, talk about it, and then you watch the Commanders film, and then it’s over,” Downs said.
Downs spent 2023 at Alabama before transferring to Ohio State, where he won the Lott Trophy and the Jim Thorpe Award in 2025. He was a unanimous All-American in each of his last two college seasons and signed with Dallas on May 1.
Dallas swept Washington last season, winning 44-22 in Arlington in October and 30-23 at Northwest Stadium on Christmas. The Cowboys have won eight of the last 10 meetings.
Kickoff Sunday at AT&T Stadium is set for 3:25 p.m. CT on FOX, with Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Brady calling the game. Dallas plays the Baltimore Ravens in Rio de Janeiro on Sept. 27.
