Caleb Downs Posts Strip Sack In Strong Cowboys Debut

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Caleb Downs played six snaps in the preseason, more than most Dallas Cowboys starters, before starting in the slot Sunday night at MetLife Stadium. The 11th overall pick finished his NFL debut with a sack, a forced fumble, a tackle for loss, and 7 combined tackles in a 28-20 loss to the New York Giants.

“I mean, I guess it was different. I only played six plays, so I can’t really say much about that,” Downs said. “But yeah, I mean, it’s a high-intensity game, and they have elite talent over there. So do we. So it was intense.”

Downs tied for the team lead with 4 solo tackles. His 7 combined tackles ranked fourth on the Dallas defense.

The Strip Sack

Downs blitzed past the right tackle in the second quarter and dropped Jaxson Dart for an 8-yard loss at the Dallas 36, knocking the ball loose on the hit. Giants guard Jon Runyan recovered at the Dallas 34 and returned it 5 yards.

Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer called it one of the night’s few positives.

“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,” 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.”

It was one of two Dallas sacks and one of four forced fumbles. The Cowboys recovered one.

Caleb Downs On The Dallas Cowboys Defense

New York converted 9 of 11 third downs, went 4-for-4 in the red zone, and gained 394 yards. Downs said the result outweighed anything individual.

“I mean, at the end of the day, in football it always just comes down to who does their job better,” Downs said. “We’ve got to do our jobs better as a defense and as a team. We get that fixed, and we’ll be good.”

“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.”

Dallas held New York to 1 rushing first down on 6 carries over the opening two possessions, then allowed 10 rushing first downs the rest of the way.

Turning To The Washington Commanders

Downs said the film work starts immediately.

“You watch the film, talk about it, and then you watch the Commanders film, and then it’s over,” Downs said.

Asked what the message was from the leaders in the room, he kept it to the work.

“I mean, see what we did wrong, execute what we need to fix, and then go back and do it better during the week next week so that we can perform better on Sunday,” Downs said.

Downs won the Lott Trophy and the Jim Thorpe Award at Ohio State in 2025 and was a unanimous All-American in each of his last two college seasons. He signed with Dallas on May 1.

Dallas hosts the Washington Commanders on Sunday at AT&T Stadium. Kickoff is 3:25 p.m. CT on FOX.