Cowboys' DaRon Bland shockingly becomes public enemy No. 1 with nightmare outing on TNF

Playing cornerback in the NFL is hard. For the first 28 games of DaRon Bland's career, it came easy. On Thursday Night Football against the Seahawks, the Dallas Cowboys star was taken to school by D.K. Metcalf and Seattle's wide receivers.

That would be an understatement, actually, as Bland was in coverage on Metcalf's 73 yard touchdown in the first quarter and on another long Metcalf reception in the first half.

Where it all fell apart for Bland, though, was right before halftime when he allowed what should've been a touchdown by Jaxon Smith-Njiba that was overturned. The only problem? Bland was flagged for defensive pass interference to set the Seahawks up on the one-yard line with seven seconds to go.

On the very next play, Geno Smith hit Metcalf for a short touchdown to give Seattle a 21-20 lead. Who was in coverage? None other than Bland.

Cowboys' DaRon Bland having nightmare game vs Seahawks on TNF after making NFL history

It's hard to play a worse half of football as a cornerback than Bland did on Thursday. He allowed five catches for 137 yards and two touchdowns.

Bland entered the week fourth in Defensive Player of the Year odds after he set the NFL record for pick-sixes in a season with his fifth on Thanksgiving.

One dreadful game doesn't take anything away from that, but Bland can officially kiss winning DPOY goodbye with this performance. It's a painful admission, as nobody on the Cowboys defense has come to play, but the Seahawks have made it a point to go at Bland and the second-year corner hasn't offered a smidge of resistance.

Bland could undo all of this by jumping a route and taking it to the house, but Cowboys fans are rightfully anxious about what awaits in the second half. 20 points of offense should be enough to be in front, but Bland and the defense have been victimized by big plays and boneheaded penalties.

Thursday Night Football has a knack for delivering the unexpected.

Bland, who was named NFC Defensive Player of the Month for November, turning into a pumpkin over the first 30 minutes after he played like the best cornerback in football in the first 11 games is nothing short of dumbfounding.

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