NEW YORK (Reuters) – His impact was not apparent on the stats sheet, but Cowboys tight end Jason Witten helped lift the Dallas Cowboys to victory over NFC East rivals New York Giants in the National Football League opener on Wednesday.
Witten, who has made the Pro Bowl in seven of his nine NFL seasons, made two catches for 10 yards but his mere presence on the field after suffering a lacerated spleen last month fired up his team mates, Dallas coach Jason Garrett said.
Considered doubtful for the game because of his injury, Witten was cleared by doctors on Tuesday to play the Super Bowl champions.
“I thought his performance was as inspirational a performance as I’ve seen from a guy who’s been awfully good, and awfully inspiring for a lot of years in this league,” Garrett said after the visitors’ 24-17 victory.
“He’s probably the most dedicated football player I’ve ever been around. He was determined to play. I think he played 45 snaps in the ball game and did an excellent job.”
Besides his two catches, Witten made an impact with his blocking and in drawing defensive attention in his direction as one of quarterback Tony Romo’s favourite targets.
Witten said he felt it was important to play and his presence might have helped open up opportunities for receiver Kevin Ogletree, who caught eight passes for 114 yards and the first two touchdowns of his four-year NFL career.
“I think it opened up a lot of stuff for Kevin on the outside (and) for the morale of our team to see me come out there and play,” Witten said.
“Hey look, I wasn’t anything remarkable. I had a job to do just like everybody else on this team, I just tried to do it. We knew this was a big game, but it was only one game. We have a long way to go.”
Witten said he was thrilled when doctors gave him the go-ahead to play.
“You work so hard for this. It’s another big game for this football team. It felt like I was getting better and better and better,” he said.
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“I was fortunate to play in that game. I feel great. It’s a big win for our football team.”
Witten thought the win over the Giants, who kept Dallas out of the playoffs by beating them in the last game of the past regular season, could be a springboard for the Cowboys.
“It’s huge,” he said. “It’s only one game, but hey, that’s the world champs. To come up here, we talked about it all offseason long. We talked about this team, and beating them at their place.”
“I think it sets the tone for our team, that we’re able to win.”
(Editing by Greg Stutchbury)