FRISCO, Texas — Caleb Downs has been everything the Dallas Cowboys hoped for when they traded up to draft him in April, owner and general manager Jerry Jones said Tuesday. Jones gave the assessment during his weekly appearance on 105.3 The Fan’s Shan & RJ show, two days after the rookie sealed a 27-23 win over the Indianapolis Colts with his first NFL interception.
The interception came in the fourth quarter against a Colts team that included his older brother, wide receiver Josh Downs. Downs also had a sack Sunday, his second of the season. He became the first Cowboys rookie with a sack and an interception in the same game since Tommy Haynes in 1987, according to the team’s website.
“Yes, he’s really everything that, as far as I’m concerned, is everything we hoped he’d be,” Jones said.
A week earlier, the brothers’ first pro meeting was in doubt. Downs entered the concussion protocol after the Nov. 1 loss to Arizona and was not cleared until Nov. 6, two days before the trip to Indianapolis.
“I mean, honestly, we needed to win as a team. That’s the biggest thing,” Downs said after the game. “And it was a surreal feeling going out there and lining up in front of him, like, it’s me and him, the whole game. So I was just thankful for the situation.”
“He definitely got me on some of the plays that they missed him on, but I’m just thankful that he’s healthy, I’m healthy, and thankful that my family could be here,” Downs continued.
Caleb Downs Saw The Interception Coming
Indianapolis was on its final drive, down 4 points and needing a touchdown, when Downs stepped in front of the throw for the first interception of his NFL career.
“It was a surreal feeling, honestly, to have it,” Downs explained, “because I saw the play coming and I saw their setup and I was like, ‘Oh, it’s coming right here. I know it. I gotta house it. I gotta make the money.’ And then I was about to get up, they kept pushing me back on the ground. So I’m like, ‘Alright, well, it is what it is.’”
Downs pointed to his faith when he talked about the play.
“I’m just playing ball,” Downs said of the play. “I’m just playing ball and anybody can say what they want to say, but I’m just fighting to be my best self. At the end of the day, the Lord created the opportunity, and I’m just thankful for the situation that He put me in, and I was just relying on his strength the whole game.”
Dallas paid to move up for him. The Cowboys gave the Miami Dolphins the 12th pick and two fifth-rounders, picks 177 and 180, to jump one spot and take the Ohio State safety 11th overall. Their second first-round pick that night went to UCF edge rusher Malachi Lawrence, 23rd overall.
Downs has bounced between safety and the slot because of injuries in the secondary. Of his snaps at Green Bay on Oct. 18, 40 came in the slot and 20 came at safety. On Nov. 1, Arizona went for it on fourth-and-goal, and Downs met running back Jeremiyah Love at the goal line to stop him.
Jerry Jones On The Defense’s Recent Progress
Doing it time and time again, and doing it when it counts, is the standard Jones is holding the defense to. He has seen more of it in the last two games.
“I loved his comment about communication,” Jones said. “Sometimes that’s not the right word. Sometimes the player just didn’t do the job, and the very best sometimes don’t do the job. But generally, they do it the predominance of the time. The good players do. We’re seeing some of that. Last two games, we’ve seen parts of it that we weren’t seeing in the first part of the season.”
The Colts managed 271 total yards on Sunday. A week earlier, Arizona had only 3 first-half points and two turnovers against the Cowboys.
Downs has talked all season about the defense needing to finish, and he wants the unit to play every snap as if it is on its own.
“I’ve been saying it all year, and I’m glad that we finally finished the game today, but at the end of the day, we got to play like it’s on us every play,” Downs said. “We’ve got to play like our defense is the last stand, that there’s no offense, that is just us, and we’re playing separate games; and that’s what we have to do. And people can say whatever they want, but when we play well, we’re a good football team.”
The Cowboys (4-5) host the San Francisco 49ers (7-1) on Sunday at AT&T Stadium. Kickoff is set for 3:25 p.m. CT on FOX.
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