Cowboys CB Nahshon Wright sealed win, emptied Titans’ stadium with first INT

With six minutes left, the Cowboys defense was in dire need of someone to step in.

Nahshon Wright moved WAY up

The 6-foot-4-inch cornerback went much higher than that, looking like he got launched off a trampoline as he snared Tennessee quarterback Josh Dobbs’s pass out of the air on its way to wideout Robert Woods in Cowboys territory. Wright’s first interception as a pro helped to snuff out a possible Titans rally and eventually seal the Cowboys’ 12th win of the season.

After the 27-13 win, the 24-year old made no apologies to reporters and took it all in stride.

“I just made a play when it came my way,” Wright said at his locker Thursday night. “That was all, that was it. He just threw it; I went up and grabbed it.”

Wright became the eighth Cowboys defender to log an interception this year, giving the team 15 picks on the season, a mark that’s third-best in the league.

The 2021 third-round selection from Oregon State was more than a well-timed takeaway. He was also the top tackler for the team that night.

This is a good result for a guy with just 59 defensive snaps in the year before the Week 17 contest.

“It was a zone coverage. I was able get my eyes back towards the quarterback. I thought he would scramble. But he just threw it up in my area, and I went up and grabbed it,” Wright explained.

It was an outstanding play that you can make with his skillset, and that’s always been the thing for him,” owner Jerry Jones said Friday On 105.3 The Fan. “Once he gets his confidence, once he gets his technique that you get with more experience, then [we knew] His skill set, his height, and his length would make him a cornerstone for us. I think that’s coming, and I was proud to see him get it.”

After season-ending injuries to cornerbacks Anthony Brown and Jourdan Lewis, and the less-than-impressive play of Kelvin Joseph, a second-year cornerback at Oregon State, the Oregon State product was forced into additional service.

It wasn’t perfect by any stretch. According to PFF, Wright allowed seven catches on 10 targets, giving up 105 yards (including the evening’s longest play, a 39-yard reception to little-used wide receiver Racey McMath) and the Titans’ lone touchdown.

Wright looks forward to continuing his upward trend in Dallas defense with increasing snaps over the past four week and some confidence.

“Nahshon just continues to battle with every opportunity he gets,” head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters After the game. “He’s clearly one of the guys you point to to take the second-year jump. I think we’re seeing that. He needs to go one more step. We’ve got another game, and we still want to be able to play and get some rhythm with our defensive personnel. I think we were more fluid this week than we were last week, and that’s definitely a big step in the right direction.”

Wright’s timely interception spurred Titans fans to take steps in the direction of the Nissan Stadium exits on Thursday. However, Wright didn’t realize his pick had caused such a massive exodus until a reporter reported it to him.

“For real? I didn’t know. I was still locked in.”

Locked up. That’s a good place to be for a cornerback, and right where the Cowboys would like Wright to stay for the upcoming playoff run.

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Story originally appeared on Cowboys Wire

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