FRISCO, Texas â After a long rehab process to recover from a torn ACL, Cowboys rookie CB Shavon Revel Jr. finally made his NFL debut on Monday night in Las Vegas.
"It was very exciting," Revel said. "Leading in to it, I had butterflies. Leading in to it though. I got in the locker room, I walked around the field before the game, just to kind of get the feel of the atmosphere. Came back to the locker room, listened to some music, you know, the music that gets you bumping, gets you focused and gets you ready to go out there and play."
What got him bumping ahead of his first football game in 429 days was "Till I Collapse" by Eminem, along with a natural confidence in himself that stems from the belief his family has in him.
"I know what I can do," Revel said. "I went and did my best and didn't listen to the noise, believed in myself, my family, they had trust in me, had support from them all the way to here. I kind off fed into that and it brought me to today."
The Cowboys kept Revel on a pitch count in his first NFL game, playing him on 17 total snaps defensively. His first snap came on a third and long for the Raiders offense in the first half, a moment that left no room for nerves at that point.
"The butterflies were left in the locker room," Revel said. "They had a little package for me, so I wasn't surprised when I had to get in the game, had to get my mind right, take a deep breath before I get out there in the game and get focused."
Not too long after, Revel corded his first career tackle in the NFL. It was contact that the young cornerback not only welcomed, but was seeking out.
"It felt great, I needed that," Revel said. "It either took me getting hit, or me hitting somebody for me to be like, 'Okay, it's time to lock in for real.'"
On the day, Revel faced two passes that came his away with only one being complete, and only for four yards. The only knock on Revel's performance was a defensive holding penalty, but it was one head coach Brian Schottenheimer understands and, in a way, appreciates.
"He played really well," Schottenheimer said of Revel. "He plays with confidence. He got one call for holding, which we told him, 'Hey, don't worry about that. That's what happens when you're an aggressive corner.'"
And with that, one game is in the books for Revel. Next, he'll have to play three games in 12 days, two of which are against the teams that played in Super Bowl LIX last year in the Philadelphia Eagles this coming Sunday, then the Kansas City Chiefs on Thanksgiving.
Ahead of all of those matchups, however, Revel's biggest lesson from his debut was recognizing the speed of the game and how he'll need to adjust to it quickly.
"It's very fast," Revel said. "At least this game, it was very fast for me. I haven't been out there in a year, so just trying to dial in on the details and focus on those."
Now, that focus will have to shift to the Philadelphia Eagles who come to town on Sunday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
