Diggs keeps INT roll going with Dallas, getting 2 this time
By SCHUYLER DIXON
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Trevon Diggs already had the interception that made him the first Dallas player since the 1970 merger with at least one pick in each of the first four games.
Turns out the second-year cornerback wasn’t finished in the Cowboys’ 36-28 victory over Carolina on Sunday.
Diggs won a tug of war with top Panthers receiver DJ Moore for his second takeaway, and single-handedly extended the club’s NFL-best streak of games with multiple takeaways to eight going back to last season.
The Cowboys are up to 10 takeaways after starting the day leading the league in that category. By himself, Diggs has a chance to finish the weekend with more takeaways than about half the 32 teams.
Best cornerback in the NFL? Diggs has quarterback Dak Prescott’s vote after joining linebacker Chuck Howley (1968) as the only Dallas players with five interceptions through four games.
“Turn on the tape,” Prescott said. “Watch the guys he’s following week in and week out, the best player. That’s a guy I’ve been going against since the spring, I know the standard he holds himself to and he’s going to continue to get better.”
Diggs showed signs of being a high-value pick as a second-rounder out of Alabama last year, with the younger brother of 2020 All-Pro Buffalo receiver Stefon Diggs getting two interceptions in his eighth game and finishing his rookie year with three.
Now, Everson Walls’ 40-year-old club record of 11 could be in play. Last week, Diggs joined Walls as the only Cowboys with interceptions in each of the first three games. Now he’s left Walls behind.
“I really don’t calculate things that I do,” Diggs said. “Things like interceptions and stuff, I really just go out there and play. I can’t even remember high school or college, I just want to go out there and just play and execute.”
Diggs was waiting for Sam Darnold’s throw on the first interception. He jumped a short route to Moore on the second, juggling the ball just as he and the receiver tumbled to the ground together. The official emphatically signaled Diggs was the winner.
“I love the challenge,” Diggs said. “It’s mano y mano. Who’s better at the end of the day. And I like to compete. I like to compete every play so I feel like I want to see who’s better.”
Prescott still remembers a practice at training camp last year when Diggs intercepted him on consecutive two-minute drills.
“He’s going to continue to get interceptions because of the way he studies, the way he goes about the game,” Prescott said. “He’s an instinctive player and obviously he has hands. He’s an old receiver, so he’s disguising a lot of the guys.”
The first interception set up Cedrick Wilson’s 23-yard touchdown catch for a 33-14 lead. The second ended in a field goal for a 36-14 edge. The Cowboys ran out the clock after the second of Darnold’s two fourth-quarter TD tosses to Moore.
“He made two good plays on it,” Darnold said. “Obviously, they’re balls I shouldn’t throw. He was just waitin’ that second one. The first one he was just reading my eyes the whole time and made a good break on it.”
Diggs could be on his way to breaking more records.
