EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – This one was special for Cowboys cornerback Amani Oruwariye. On Wednesday afternoon, he was told that he could be promoted from the practice squad to the game-day squad due to health issues in the secondary.

He was notified Thursday morning that he would be activated and although he wasn’t sure how much he was going to play going in, he capped the Cowboys’ 20-15 win over the Giants on Thursday night with an interception.

Oruwariye started the game on the bench, but started the second half after starter Andrew Booth was on the bench.

The Cowboys started Booth with Caelen Carson out with a shoulder injury. Booth was beaten on a long reception in the first half by a double move from Giants rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers and just struggled overall.

At halftime, the Cowboys told Oruwariye he was taking over.

All Oruwariye could think about was having a Mamba mentality like the late basketball star Kobe Bryant. Oruwariye wore Bryant’s T-shirt in the locker room after the game and made a note of the mama snake tattooed on his left arm.

This became common as Oruwariye’s interception with five seconds left sealed the victory and reminded him of how Bryant would close out games for the Lakers.

“That was my mentality, mamba,” he said. “I got into my mamba mode. I also had it tattooed on me. I just try to be my best self every day and that’s what I tried to do today.”

As Oruwariye spoke to reporters, Dak Prescott was nearby crying about how the new cornerback said he was a ball hawk and was called out against him in the first practice.

It’s been a long road for Oruwariye. He was a fifth-round pick by the Lions in 2019 and entered free agency after four seasons. He signed with the New York Giants in 2023 and was fired that summer. He signed to Jacksonville’s practice squad and played in only one game. He was cut in August before the Cowboys signed him to their practice squad.

This season, an injury to starter DaRon Bland (toe) brought Carson, a rookie, into the starting lineup. But after Carson’s injury, the Cowboys looked at different options for the Giants game.

“Obviously we didn’t have a lot of work this week, just on the short week,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “But these guys compete all the time. It was a really tough decision in terms of numbers. We actually had three guys we were talking about playing that (Carson’s) spot. So all praise for our group.”

Oruwariye finished with two pass breakups and the pick in his Cowboys debut.

It was a little sweeter to get the interception, the 10th of his career and first since 2021, against the Giants.

“It’s definitely a business,” he said. “It definitely gave me a little extra motivation.”

Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.