IRVING, Texas– Gavin Escobar minced no words about how long he'd been waiting for a true opportunity to break out.
"Ever since I got to the NFL," he said. "It's a great feeling, and it's a great team win overall."
Of course, Sunday's win against New York wasn't the first time the second-year tight end has found paydirt. He scored touchdowns against St. Louis and Philadelphia as a rookie in 2013, and he opened the Cowboys' scoring last week in Seattle on a two-yard touchdown catch.
All of that pales in comparison to Escobar's three-catch, 65-yard, two-touchdown day against the Giants, though. Escobar entered the game Sunday afternoon with 154 career receiving yards – and a mere 20 on the season.
His totals in three quarters against the Giants accounted for a third of his career production to this point. Behind Dez Bryant, Escobar was Tony Romo's No. 2 target on the day.
"When he's been healthy, we've tried to give him opportunities in the passing game and he typically has come through," said Cowboys coach Jason Garrett. "He's a very mature route runner and does a really good job going to get the football. I think Tony has a real comfort level with him."
Romo found Escobar the first time to open the day's scoring. Facing a 3rd-and-10 from the New York 15-yard line, Escobar broke open going across the middle of the end zone for an easy 7-0 lead. He said the Giants' close coverage on Jason Witten made the play possible.
"That first touchdown, they really clamped down on Witt, so it gave me an opportunity to get in the middle of the field and get open," Escobar said.
The duo's second connection was a thing of football beauty. On a 1st-and-10 from the New York 26, Romo faked a handoff to DeMarco Murray, then looked right. Escobar faked outside, then worked down the seam for a touchdown that would put the Cowboys up, 21-14.
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"The one play-action throw that Tony made was just a big-time throw-and-catch," Garrett said. "It's what we wanted and we called it for the right reasons at the right time and got what we wanted on it, but having said that, it was not an easy throw-and-catch and those two guys just made a heck of a play."
Time will tell if Escobar can maintain that momentum going forward – it took seven weeks to get started. Given his role in a sixth-straight victory, he's not complaining.
"It's easier to wait when you're winning," he said. "It's nice being 6-1 now, so we're just trying to keep rolling."
