When Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland died at age 24 back on Nov. 6, his Dallas teammates were on bye week and were in turn located all across the country. The Cowboys had to wait days to get together and mourn with one another.
Coach Brian Schottenheimer made sure his team had the support they needed when returning as a unit. He knew everyone needed time to grieve and honor Kneeland’s life, so football was put on the back burner right away.
Schottenheimer detailed to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer what the facilities were like on Nov. 10 when the Cowboys came together to honor Kneeland’s life.
“We had a team meeting and we just talked and we laughed and we cried and we cried some more,” Schottenheimer said. “We had some experts there that we could talk to, we had breakout sessions where we could talk about it, share our feelings. I’m telling you, man, the healing for me started the minute I could put my arms around some of these guys, and tell them I love them and tell them how much I miss Marshawn, and that just kind of started it.
“And we have such a great culture, man. And I know some people think that’s bulls---. But this locker room is different. This locker room is special. This locker room loves one another. This locker room will fight to the end for one another, and Marshawn was a huge part of that. And if anything, I think it’s kind of brought us even closer together.”
The Cowboys have used Kneeland’s death as something to motivate them to play their best to honor him. That fight came out in Sunday’s huge comeback win over the Eagles, who blew a 21-point lead to lose 24–21. In the locker room after the win, the Dallas squad brought out the flag they had made for Kneeland to include him in the celebrations.
“We are connected for life through this,” Schottenheimer said. “And, even tonight, we came in here after the big win and we had a flag that was made to honor Marshawn that Osa carried out for defensive introductions. The guys were in the middle of the locker room just dancing and passing the flag around to each other. And I mean, it just warmed my heart, man. It really did.
“It just made me … I just knew he was looking down on us and he was so proud of what these guys were able to overcome.”
It’s very clear that the Cowboys are now playing for Kneeland this season. They’ve moved to 5–5–1 after two straight wins and next host the Chiefs in a huge Thanksgiving Day showdown.
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