ARLINGTON, Texas — Time has been known to make even the most vivid of pictures fade, and it feels as if that's been the case regarding the greatness of DaRon Bland in the arena of pick-sixes, that is until he remastered the image in the TV' beatdown of the Washington Commanders at AT&T Stadium.
Bland's pick-six against Marcus Mariota marked the sixth of his career, and reminded the entire NFL just why he's called Pick-Six King in the first place — making more history on Sunday in the process. The former fifth-round pick (yes, the fifth round) now has more pick-sixes than any NFL player throughout the first four seasons of a career.
And he has the most in franchise history as well, and he's only 26 years old.
"I was like, 'Oh, I got it, We'll get this one,'" said the All-Pro cornerback. "Even though the sun was beaming in my face a little bit, it was good. … I was more so just telling myself to not drop it because it was just me and the end zone."
Not even the star that inhabits the center of the solar system could stop Bland from making history against the Commanders and, not unlike the touchdown drought suffered by Pro Bowl tight end Jake Ferguson entering the 2025 season, Bland readily admits that while he wasn't pressing to get another pick-six, it feels good to get back into the end zone.
"It's just really about [the work to] keep stacking," he said.
To drive the point home further regarding what Bland is achieving in his young career is the fact only 32 players in the history of the NFL have grabbed at least six pick-sixes — a jaw-dropping statistic — and names that exceed Bland, career-wise, include Rod Woodson, Charles Woodson, Darren Sharper, Aqib Talib and Deion Sanders, to name a handful.
And it took them roughly twice as long, if not longer, than Bland.
What's more is the timing of the interception against Washington, a tidbit that made it that much more impactful. With the Commanders still clinging to hope, even after Ferguson's second touchdown on the day making it a 34-15 contest, it was Bland swooping in to fire that hope right into the very sun that tried to keep him from penning his name into the history books yet again.
With both defensive tackles Osa Odighizuwa and Kenny Clark forcing him to panic, Mariota heaved the pass to what he thought was a wide open receiver, but Bland was baiting him and laying in wait, then striking like an RKO outta nowhere for a 68-yard defensive touchdown.
That took the rest of whatever fight was left out of the Commanders.
"What a powerful moment for our football team," said head coach Brian Schottenheimer. "You know how much time and effort we put into talking about getting the ball and the turnover battle, and that was really cool to see. We have been talking about that for a couple weeks, in terms of trying to manifest it to happen, and then, of course, when he got it, I actually was chuckling a little bit.
"It was great to see. That was something, because, again, it was kind of the stamp on it for all the things that those guys had done and have gone through. It was a cool moment."
That sentiment is echoed loudly by All-Pro quarterback Dak Prescott.
"Yeah, most definitely," said Prescott. "I actually told him, and right before. … I told [DaRon], 'Hey, they throw it to you as much as they throw it to anybody, huh?' So it was pretty cool to see him get the interception and a touchdown. Just tried to put that juju in the air and manifest it, and he went and did what DB does."
And so the saying goes that things come in bunches, be it sacks, points and/or interceptions, and the last time Bland grabbed a pick-six, the season opener in 2023, his second season in the league, he ended the year by grabbing four more before that campaign was all said-and-done.
Does he feel like, with the proverbial monkey off of his back, that history could repeat itself?
His smile after hearing that question spoke volumes, but the humility, as always, is what flowed so effortlessly into the microphone.
"Hopefully, you know," he said. "Only time could tell."
