IRVING, Texas – The Cowboys players who were on the Chiefs' sideline in 2009 remember Miles Austin well.
Austin's magical day included 10 catches for 250 yards, including a 60-yard touchdown reception in overtime to cap a spectacular performance in his first start. Guard Brian Waters and cornerback Brandon Carr, both members of the Chiefs at the time, haven't forgotten.
"We just had this conversation the other day," Waters said. "Believe me, I told him, I said, 'Man, we didn't have a clue who you were.' All of a sudden we're all looking at each other like, 'Who in the world is 19?' But he hit us for 250... I hope he has that kind of day again. I hope I'm on the right side of that one."
Austin said it was a big win for the team and for him, personally. He doesn't know if there's magic in that stadium for him, but he'll find out when he heads to play the Chiefs this weekend in Kansas City for the first time since his breakout performance. [embedded_ad]
"I've been starting since then," Austin said. "I knew I was going to start, so I wanted to make sure I was on top of all my assignments, pretty much the same thing I'm doing now. I just knew I was going to play in the game more that week."
The Cowboys have a large contingency of former Chiefs players currently on their roster, including Waters, Carr, Edgar Jones, Kyle Orton, Alex Tanney and Jerome Long. Both Waters and Carr were there for Austin's performance.
Carr had the best perspective of the massive outburst, playing defense against the receiver most people around the league hadn't heard of at the time.
"Miles got his name from 2009," Carr said. "That performance, we heard a lot about him going into that week. He showed up and took over the game. That's those games that kind of spark players' careers. That was a catalyst to get to where he is right now. Hopefully, he can have that same type of game this week."
As for whether Carr, a fifth-round pick from Grand Valley State, was surprised by Austin's performance? "I'm never surprised by small school guys," Carr joked.
