ARLINGTON, Texas — A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, but what's often lost in that age-old bit of wisdom is the fact that there are often things that knock a person back several steps, multiple times, to test their will and resolve toward their goal. Malik Davis can readily attest to the truth of that matter and, on Thanksgiving, the Dallas Cowboys' running back got his chance to take a hundred steps forward.
That's roughly the number of them he took, give or take, when All-Pro quarterback Dak Prescott handed him the ball on 2nd-and-1 from the Chiefs 43-yard line, late in the second quarter, and Davis exploded through the line of scrimmage before juking a defender and turning on the jets to pull away for a 43-yard touchdown.
It was the longest of his NFL career, the longest rushing touchdown of the Cowboys' season, and it gave Dallas their first lead of the game just ahead of halftime in a game they went on to win, their third in a row to move to 6-5-1 on the year.
"It's a great feeling," Davis said after the game, still soaking in the surrealism of the moment. "I told [my teammates] when I was coming off the field, I was like, 'It's no better feeling, you know?' I prayed so hard for these moments, and my teammates, they watched me, and they know what I've been going through — my family, they watched me come in and work every day, and it feels great.
"Now that the world can see, I'm just scratching the surface. They just saw a little peek of what I could do."
Davis' road to this point is one that many could take something away from.
An undrafted free agent signed to the Cowboys in 2022, the former Gator initially spent his clawing away on the practice squad with elevations every so often, more often as a rookie due to injury at the position; and he showed a lot of promise at that time in spelling and Tony Pollard but, adversity would again show itself when he struggled to find a way to convince the previous coaching regime to consistently give him a shot on the active roster.
"I kept praying every day about what I wanted, you know," said Davis. "I prayed every day when I was back at home, about this moment — I prayed hard and, boy, I appreciate it."
To this point, Davis has been waived a total of five times, including three in 2025 alone: one after having signed a reserve/futures deal in January, re-signing in the summer and impressing in training camp and the preseason, then waived in August as part of final roster cuts, re-signing to the practice squad afterwards.
In November, he was signed from the practice squad to the active roster, waived again shortly thereafter, and re-signed to the practice squad again, and then back to the active roster recently — where he currently remains, having taken a home run swing at sticking this time around.
His journey serves as a testimony for many who might be on the verge of giving up on their dream simply because they can't see the light quite yet.
"Keep believing in yourself, and keep trusting God," said Davis. "Whatever you want, you can go get it. Just keep trusting God, keep putting in that work, and it could happen for you. Straight up."
