Cowboys: John Fassel's answered prayer led to 40-0 win over Giants
Everyone should be as honest as Dallas Cowboys special teams coordinator John Fassel. On Sunday night's 40-0 win, it was his unit that sparked things with a blocked field goal by safety Juanyeh Thomas returned for a touchdown by cornerback Noah Igbinoghene. Fassel was quick to confess such a play was not the product of […]
Everyone should be as honest as Dallas Cowboys special teams coordinator John Fassel.
On Sunday night's 40-0 win, it was his unit that sparked things with a blocked field goal by safety Juanyeh Thomas returned for a touchdown by cornerback Noah Igbinoghene. Fassel was quick to confess such a play was not the product of a perfectly drawn-up play.
"We didn't know exactly what (the Giants') personnel would be and even exactly what techniques they would be using in field goal protection," Fassel told reporters on Monday. "It was really just a bread-and-butter call that was designed to give us information. Based on what happened, it just happened to be the right call."
That's how things go in the NFL. It's a player's league. Sunday's blocked field goal was all Thomas, who fought hard for a spot on the Cowboys 53-man roster and is already showing why he made it. Fassel was emphatic in his praise for Thomas' effort on the play.
It's not hard to understand why. After all, Juanyeh has been a project of the coach for a while and his belief has never wavered. When the Cowboys waived him in 2022 ahead of the roster-cut deadline, Fassel clearly didn't want it that way.
"Training camp 2022," responded Fassel when asked when he knew Thomas was special. "We just had a loaded safety room."
The Cowboys special teams coordinator was so high on the 2022 undrafted rookie that, knowing he couldn't control Thomas' potential to be poached by another NFL team at any moment, he turned to the one thing he could do: pray.
"And I didn't want to talk too much about him (in the offseason) because for 17 consecutive weeks, I prayed that he would not get poached off our practice squad and that's a fact," Fassel confessed, going as far as revealing that he was hoping the Cowboys wouldn't activate him for a game last year because other teams would catch on.
"I didn't want to lose him for any reason," he concluded. "He's an outstanding football player and there's a lot more from him, for sure, too."
Cowboys fans who didn't know Juanyeh Thomas' name now do. And he'll be a star for this unit as the team tries to replace several key special teams contributors in 2023.
Cowboys’ Micah Parsons: ‘Everyone is locked in’ after 40-0 win vs. Giants
They really proved it.
Featured image via Dallas Cowboys' YouTube
