Former Nittany Lion clinches game for Dallas Cowboys, but it’s not the one you think

Thursday Night Football between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at Metlife Stadium in New Jersey came down to the wire. Before Saquon Barkley left New York for Philadelphia this offseason, this NFC East matchup typically featured two Penn State legends with Micah Parsons leading the Dallas defense. However, it was a different former Nittany Lion who sealed the game for Dallas. 

Leading 20-15, after Parsons left the game with a foot injury that he is now being evaluated for, Dallas got the ball back and set up for a 51-yard field goal to go up eight with 32 seconds remaining. However, Brandon Aubrey missed it, setting up New York at its own 41-yard line with a couple of shots to reach the end zone. 

New York quarterback Daniel Jones threw deep down the sidelines twice, but his passes fell incomplete. Then, on third-and-10, Jones rolled to his right and heaved a hail mary attempt toward the end zone, but was intercepted by Amani Oruwariye. 

The cornerback is now on his third team across six NFL seasons. In 2019, he was a fifth-round pick of the Detroit Lions out of Penn State. The game-clincher for Dallas was Oruwariye’s 10th NFL interception and the 28-year-old's first as a Cowboy. Oruwariye signed a one-year deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2023 but played just one game. Week 4 was his first action as a member of the Cowboys.

From 2015-2018, Oruwariye played in 48 games for the Nittany Lions, recording eight career interceptions and one career touchdown during Penn State’s 2016 Big Ten championship season.