Remember when our boy Wade Phillips said Sean Lee was not ready to be a nickel linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys, which was the main reason he was drafted in April? That's when yours truly called Lee an abject failure.
Well, when he was picked he was surely taken to hopefully eventually replace 35-year-old inside linebacker Keith Brooking, bless his old heart. And in Sunday's thrilling, overtime win over Peyton Manning and the Colts, Lee took a huge step to giving the team confidence he can do just that.
Lee had four tackles and most notably two interceptions, taking one to the house from 31 yards out in the third quarter as he stepped in for Brooking, who entered the game with a foot injury and played sparingly.
On the touchdown, Lee jumped a Blair White route and stepped right into Manning's throw before rumbling down the right sideline and diving into the end zone as his teammates mobbed him. You have to think everyone on that defense liked seeing what we saw on Sunday, a beleaguered rookie finally having that "coming of age" type game.
"If you would've told me I would've picked off two passes from Peyton Manning, I would have told you you were lying," Lee said. "He's probably the best quarterback to ever play the game."
His second pick came in overtime.
And for at least one day, the second-round pick from Penn State was better than him.
Sports Connection
Connecting you to your favorite North Texas sports teams as well as sports news around the globe.
From this point on, Brooking should take a back seat to Lee and play in a limited role. All season, Brooking and Bradie James have not seen the bench because Lee wasn't ready to step in. Now, he's proven he is after a nice three-game stretch capped off by Sunday's game which saw him on the field more than any other time in his brief career.
Stay on top of the latest Dallas Cowboys news with NBCDFW.com. Follow NBC DFW Sports on Facebook or have breaking Cowboys news sent directly to your phone with Blue Star SMS alerts. Text "bluestar" to 622339 (NBCDFW) to subscribe to this free service. Read more about it here.
