Trevon Diggs kept the goal to himself before the season.
In Sunday's 21-6 road victory over the Giants, he achieved it.
10 interceptions.
It's the most by any Cowboys player since Everson Walls' franchise-record 11 in 1981, and the next step in Diggs' remarkable rise among the NFL's best defensive players in just his second season.
"I'm happy I reached it, but I didn't know that I was going to reach it," Diggs said. "It's just a blessing and I'm truly just happy that I can represent the Star, represent my team and go out there and give it all I've got."
Diggs' pick Sunday came on a jump-ball throw to the end zone by Giants quarterback Mike Glennon with New York desperately trying to get back in the game midway through the fourth quarter. Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy challenged the initial ruling of an incomplete pass, and instant replay showed Diggs already had possession before Giants receiver Kenny Golladay ripped it out.
"On that play, the D-line did a great job because they had him," Diggs said. "I thought they were going to sack him and then he got out of the pocket and he just threw it up and he thought that his player was going to catch it. I knew I caught it. I had possession."
Diggs made third and final interception by the Cowboys' defense Sunday, giving Dallas an NFL-best 22 for the season. Cornerback Jourdan Lewis and safety Malik Hooker also had a pick each.
Diggs, a second-round draft pick in 2020, and rookie linebacker/defensive end Micah Parsons have emerged as two of the league's most dynamic young players, cornerstones for a vastly-improved Cowboys defense. And Diggs is now one of two NFL players since 2010 with double-digit interceptions in a season. (Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard also had 10 a year ago.)
"You're seeing a young man really coming into his own," head coach Mike McCarthy said about Diggs. "He's obviously having a great season, but he's done it since he arrived in Dallas. I think when everybody asks about that moment that you have when you see a great player kind of come into his own, it's that last training camp practice of his rookie year. … That was four interceptions in a final training camp practice. It's kind of been that way since. This guy does it every day and he's playing at a really high level with great confidence right now."
One goal has been reached. Three regular-season games are left.
What's next for Diggs?
"I've got to set new goals now," he said. "I'm going to set another one and see if I can accomplish that. But as long as I do what I do on the field, come to the game, come to work, come ready to play, the sky's the limit."
