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ST. LOUIS -- Morris Claiborne was more relieved than happy as he buttoned up his dress shirt after the Dallas Cowboys' 34-31 win against the St. Louis Rams Sunday.
The cornerback made the game-clinching interception with 1:02 to play, coming down with a deep Austin Davis pass down the sideline for Brian Quick. He had the requisite on-field celebration, but he admitted "I pretty much stunk it up," before the play.
"The guys are still trying to keep me up," Claiborne said. "I'm not satisfied. We got a win and a big play at the end but it's something about leaving plays out there."
Claiborne didn't just leave plays on the field. He didn't make plays and he was beaten for plays. Continuously.
Quick beat him for a 51-yard touchdown on the first play of the second quarter. He was beaten by Kenny Britt for a 38-yard gain in the third quarter. He missed a tackle on a 16-yard run by Zac Stacy on the next play. He was penalized for illegal contact in the fourth quarter and acknowledged he was in the wrong spot on the Rams' final touchdown.
The cries for his benching could probably be heard everywhere evidently but the Edward Jones Dome. It was the lowest point for the former sixth overall pick of the 2012 draft, a player compared to Deion Sanders when he was selected.
With Orlando Scandrick back after his four-game suspension was cut in half thanks to a revised NFL drug policy, the Cowboys could have played Claiborne less.
Scandrick started but he rotated with Claiborne, depending on the St. Louis personnel. When the Rams spread the field, Scandrick moved to the slot and Claiborne stayed outside. Sterling Moore, who played well in Scandrick's absence, was a mere afterthought.
Coach Jason Garrett applauded Claiborne's ability to forget a poor play. Or two. Or three. Or seven.
"There is probably no position other than quarterback that you have to do (move on from a bad play) as much as the cornerback position in this league because you're out there on that island and the guys on the other side are good," Garrett said. "I thought our guys outside really battled back. Obviously Mo made a significant play at the end of the game to ice it for us. A true sign of mental toughness. That's what you've got to do in this league."
Even as Claiborne missed opportunities to make plays, jumping too soon on the pass to Britt, failing to wrap up Stacy, he figured he would have another chance. He knew he had done nothing to dissuade Davis from going in his direction, especially as the Rams looked to tie or win the game late.
"Playing this position, you can't hang your head," Claiborne said. "Guys are going to catch balls. It's what you do after that. They're going to come again at you."
When Claiborne saw Quick use an outside release on first-and-10 from the St. Louis 26, he figured it was a go route. The same one in which he was beat in the second quarter.
"I turned and ran and tried to play the ball," Claiborne said. "I was blessed to come up with it."
He sprinted away to celebrate after coming up with the interception -- just the third of his career -- but he couldn't outrun what happened to him the rest of the day.
The interception did not erase the first 58 minutes of the game.
"Not in my eyes," Claiborne said. "It seemed to do that with everybody else. Not in my eyes. I'm ready to go learn from this tape and get better from it. Like I told the DBs, no matter what the outcome is I can't go out and play like that. If we want to be the No. 1 defense in the league, on my end, I can't go out like that."
The cornerback made the game-clinching interception with 1:02 to play, coming down with a deep Austin Davis pass down the sideline for Brian Quick. He had the requisite on-field celebration, but he admitted "I pretty much stunk it up," before the play.
"The guys are still trying to keep me up," Claiborne said. "I'm not satisfied. We got a win and a big play at the end but it's something about leaving plays out there."
Claiborne didn't just leave plays on the field. He didn't make plays and he was beaten for plays. Continuously.
Quick beat him for a 51-yard touchdown on the first play of the second quarter. He was beaten by Kenny Britt for a 38-yard gain in the third quarter. He missed a tackle on a 16-yard run by Zac Stacy on the next play. He was penalized for illegal contact in the fourth quarter and acknowledged he was in the wrong spot on the Rams' final touchdown.
The cries for his benching could probably be heard everywhere evidently but the Edward Jones Dome. It was the lowest point for the former sixth overall pick of the 2012 draft, a player compared to Deion Sanders when he was selected.
With Orlando Scandrick back after his four-game suspension was cut in half thanks to a revised NFL drug policy, the Cowboys could have played Claiborne less.
Scandrick started but he rotated with Claiborne, depending on the St. Louis personnel. When the Rams spread the field, Scandrick moved to the slot and Claiborne stayed outside. Sterling Moore, who played well in Scandrick's absence, was a mere afterthought.
Coach Jason Garrett applauded Claiborne's ability to forget a poor play. Or two. Or three. Or seven.
"There is probably no position other than quarterback that you have to do (move on from a bad play) as much as the cornerback position in this league because you're out there on that island and the guys on the other side are good," Garrett said. "I thought our guys outside really battled back. Obviously Mo made a significant play at the end of the game to ice it for us. A true sign of mental toughness. That's what you've got to do in this league."
Even as Claiborne missed opportunities to make plays, jumping too soon on the pass to Britt, failing to wrap up Stacy, he figured he would have another chance. He knew he had done nothing to dissuade Davis from going in his direction, especially as the Rams looked to tie or win the game late.
"Playing this position, you can't hang your head," Claiborne said. "Guys are going to catch balls. It's what you do after that. They're going to come again at you."
When Claiborne saw Quick use an outside release on first-and-10 from the St. Louis 26, he figured it was a go route. The same one in which he was beat in the second quarter.
"I turned and ran and tried to play the ball," Claiborne said. "I was blessed to come up with it."
He sprinted away to celebrate after coming up with the interception -- just the third of his career -- but he couldn't outrun what happened to him the rest of the day.
The interception did not erase the first 58 minutes of the game.
"Not in my eyes," Claiborne said. "It seemed to do that with everybody else. Not in my eyes. I'm ready to go learn from this tape and get better from it. Like I told the DBs, no matter what the outcome is I can't go out and play like that. If we want to be the No. 1 defense in the league, on my end, I can't go out like that."
