Cowboys special teams coach not placing blame on Amani Oruwariye for epic blunder vs. Bengals

Dallas Cowboys (5-8) special teams coach John Fassel said Tuesday that cornerback Amani Oruwariye “did not let the team down” with his special teams gaffe late in the fourth quarter of the 27-20 defeat to the Cincinnati Bengals (5-8) on Monday Night Football.

“I asked him how he was doing, word for word, and he said, ‘I’m doing good,’” Fassel said, via Josh Tolentino of lonestarlive.com. “I said, ‘Good because you should be doing good. You have no reason to think you cost us the game or you made a mistake or that you let the team down.’ All words that came out of his mouth. All those things are not true in my opinion. He did not let the team down.

“Worked incredibly hard to come off IR after missing [five] games. He tried to make a play on the ball. So, none of that stuff should be written about [Oruwariye]. He didn’t let the team down. He felt bad about it. I’m glad that he is good today. Football happens.”

Amani Oruwariye makes wild blunder on blocked punt late in 4th quarter

With the game tied at 20 apiece, the Cowboys’ defense made a timely stop, forcing the Bengals to punt the ball away with two minutes remaining. Linebacker Nick Vigil made what looked to be the play of the game, coming in untouched to block the punt. The ball took a big bounce and rather than allow a Bengals player to touch the ball to bring an end to the play, Oruwariye attempted to catch it off the bounce.

Oruwariye failed to bring the ball in. It was recovered by a Bengals special teamer, giving Cincinnati possession and a chance at redemption. Cincinnati did not waste its gifted opportunity. Three plays later, quarterback Joe Burrow found receiver Ja’Marr Chase for a 40-yard game-winning score.

Oruwariye, a six-year veteran with 58 games under his belt, was added to the roster before kickoff after being activated from injured reserve. In that moment, he had a clear lapse of judgement reminiscent to that of former Cowboy Leon Lett and his special teams blunder on Thanksgiving Day in 1993 against the Miami Dolphins.

John Fassel on Amani Oruwariye special teams error: ‘Crazy play and it happens fast’

Fassel called it a “crazy play” that happened fast, further explaining what Oruwariye was likely thinking in that moment.

“We can watch the film and watch the TV copies, but it happens in absolutely brilliant flashes as far as timing of things,” Fassel said. “The football reality just says, am I hearing peter calls? Am I seeing anybody make signals? Because it happened in about two seconds after the ball got blocked to the time the ball touched [Oruwariye’s] hands. So, if we can put ourselves in his shoes and how fast things happened, I think that’s probably what you expect for him to do. I told Oruwariye if I’m a football player in his shoes and I see the ball bouncing, and I don’t know how it got there… I’m probably going to handle it too.

“It’s fair to absolutely say it’s a peter call, it’s a poison call, for the guys who see what happened. But he wasn’t part of that core. And didn’t have any idea what happened, like if it was an incomplete pass or a fumble or a blocked kick. Who knows how many different things could have happened [in Oruwariye’s mind]. It’s a unique one for sure. It’s a crazy play and it happens fast.”