VT. WR George Pickens silenced the NFL with history-making greatness: He quietly broke a record no player had ever touched before—and he did it in the midst of a breathtaking win over the Eagles that will be remembered for years.
Arlington, Texas. The Dallas Cowboys left AT&T Stadium with a thrilling 24-21 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 11, but the night wasn’t all about Dak Prescott or Brandon Aubrey. The player who had the NFL media reopening the record books was Cowboys new WR George Pickens, who quietly accomplished something unprecedented in league history.
According to ESPN Stats & Info, Pickens became the first player in NFL history to have at least 100 receiving yards, a touchdown, and a forced fumble in the same game, a record that has never been broken in the league’s more than 100 years of existence. Notably, he accomplished this in one of the most tense games of the season, against an Eagles defense that ranked in the top three in quarterback pressure.
From the very beginning, Pickens showed why the Cowboys had so much faith in him. Early in the second quarter, Prescott launched a 38-yard throw down the right sideline, and Pickens leaped between two Eagles defenders as if defying gravity, pulling the ball down and exploding across the field. That play sparked a crucial scoring drive that got Dallas back on track.
But the big moment came late in the fourth quarter. As the Eagles prepared for a final drive, Pickens—not a defensive player by any means—chased after A.J. Brown and punched the ball out himself, forcing a dunk that allowed Dallas to keep the ball and seal the victory. Cowboys fans on social media called it “the punch of a boxer who refuses to let go of the ball.”
In the postgame press conference, head coach Mike McCarthy couldn’t help but smile:
“Pickens is more than just a WR. He’s a true football player – willing to do whatever it takes to win.”
Prescott echoed this sentiment:
“Not many players at his position can pursue a play like that to the end. It’s tenacity, not a highlight.”
However, Pickens remained humble when asked about the record:
“I just play football. If the team needs me to block, I block. If they need me to make a run, I make a run. I don’t care about the record I set.”
The Cowboys left Week 11 with a crucial win in the NFC East title race, but it was the image of Pickens struggling, rising, fighting, and carving out his own place in history that Cowboys Nation was most proud of. On a night when the spotlight usually shines on familiar stars, George Pickens has written his name into the record books – and this could be just the beginning.
