Everything unfolded perfectly for Caleb Downs.
The Dallas Cowboys rookie safety, playing in his first NFL regular-season game in front of a national audience on Sunday Night Football, lined up on the edge and had a clear blitzing lane toward New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart.
The end result was Downs unleashing a massive hit on Dart, forcing a fumble and announcing himself to the NFL world in primetime.
“He called the play, and I looked in the backfield and was like, ‘I don’t think there’s anybody who is going to block me,'” Downs told Bleacher Report. “So then I just started running and was like, ‘oh, I’ve got to get there.’ Then I saw him pump fake the ball, and I was like, ‘oh, it’s over with.'” So yeah, I just tried to get the ball out as well as I could. I wish we could have gotten the turnover, but it was good.”
It was part of a brilliant individual debut for the No. 11 pick in the 2026 NFL draft.
He was flying around the field throughout Sunday’s game and finished with eight tackles, one sack and one forced fumble. He was also on the field for the majority of the defensive snaps and featured in coverage and against the run.
While the Cowboys lost 28-20, Downs was a bright spot for the team and its fans as they look ahead toward the future.
“It’s hard to focus on my individual performance because we didn’t complete the ultimate goal, but it was a good experience,” he said. “Made some plays, did my job a lot of times. So that was cool to be able to do so on such a high level. But I’m really just looking forward to this next one and accomplishing the main goal as a team. I know what I did well, but it’s all about improving and getting better.”
There couldn’t have been much more hype surrounding Downs ahead of his rookie season seeing how he was a star joining America’s Team and a defensive unit that needed to make significant strides from last year.
All he did in college was help lead Alabama to the SEC championship and College Football Playoff as a freshman before transferring to Ohio State and elevating his game even more for the Buckeyes. He was a national champion, back-to-back All-American and the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year during his time at Ohio State.
B/R’s NFL Scouting Department ranked him as the best overall player in its big board of prospects leading up to the draft, and he fell to the Cowboys at No. 11 in part because safeties are not always as valued at the NFL level as positions such as quarterback, offensive tackle and wide receiver.
But his impact was clear right from the start, suggesting he is going to surpass even the sky-high expectations that were put in place.
His absence was also clear at the college level, as Ohio State blew a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter during Saturday’s loss to Texas without him on the backend of the defense to provide a stabilizing force.
However, Downs believes his former team will be able to bounce back from the early setback just like his professional team.
“If we would have played a schedule like they have this year last year, we would have been tremendously better on the back end of the season,” he said of Ohio State. “Yes, they lost, but at the end of the day playing against good teams is what makes you ready to win big games at the end of the season.
“That’s a huge positive that they’re going through. Being able to bounce back from a loss, especially a game like that where they had it in their hands and let it slip from their grasp, is something Coach Ryan Day and them are going to excel at. I’m excited to see how they respond.”
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Fortunately for Buckeyes and Cowboys fans, there is still a majority of the season to look forward to even after the early losses. And Downs is making sure those fans have the perfect snack for their tailgates as the campaign continues.
He partnered with Dot’s for its “A Winning Season Tastes Like Dot’s” campaign, which is celebrating the tradition of football fans coming together for a new year with the launch of its limited-time offering, Chipotle Honey Pretzels.
“It’s been going really well,” Downs said of the partnership. “‘A Winning Season Tastes Like Dot’s’ hits home for me because whenever I’m watching a game or watching a movie and just chilling with the family, I’m always eating Dot’s. So this worked out. Whenever I go to the movies, that’s my first pick.”
Chipotle Honey is his flavor of choice, and he said “they haven’t left my sight.”
Downs will surely continue to get off-the-field opportunities such as this one if he continues to play like he did in Sunday’s opener.
Yet for as brilliant as he was, it is an understatement to say the first game did not go according to plan for the Cowboys. The defense that was last in the league in points allowed and 30th in yards allowed last season looked like it still had a number of issues, as Dart threw for 230 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions.
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New York also ran for 165 yards and a touchdown, while even the talented Dallas offense didn’t have a single player finish with more than 44 yards through the air or on the ground. Dak Prescott also threw a costly interception as the visitors struggled to generate any consistent momentum.
Still, it was just the first game for a team that has plenty of talent in place with Prescott, Javonte Williams, CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, among others. It is reasonable to expect the offense to be among the league’s best as the season progresses.
And while the defense is still a concern, having a young playmaker like Downs should lead to more improvement. He only figures to get better with more experience, which is a troubling thought for opposing offenses given how effective he was in his first game.
So why should Cowboys fans remain optimistic?
“I would just say perseverance,” Downs said. “We have a very well-rounded team, and we know what we need to fix. That’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to focus on the details, focus on the little things. That way next time we get on that stage, we can do what we need to do.”
He also didn’t feel overwhelmed by the speed of his first regular-season game and avoided any of the cliche welcome to the NFL moments that sometimes cause early issues for rookies.
“I would just say football is football,” Downs said. “Whoever makes the least amount of mistakes and whoever doesn’t beat themselves is usually going to win the game. So we have to go out and play our best game on Sunday.”
Sunday will be another opportunity against a division rival in the Washington Commanders.
It will also be Downs’ first regular-season home game of his career and an opportunity to immediately get back on track in front of a raucous crowd that should create plenty of energy. Washington is also coming off a 5-12 season and lost its opener to the Philadelphia Eagles.
“I’m expecting a lot of excitement,” Downs said of the home opener. “It’s going to be joyful for me just to be on the field again, as always, and to be in the situation I’ve been put in. I’m just very thankful. To go out and play in front of a home crowd is going to be an awesome feeling.”
Getting to watch him make plays in person like the strip-sack he had against the Giants will also be an awesome feeling for the Cowboys fans as well.