When told, he didn’t believe it. He checked his cell phone: Eight messages.
A sly smile crept across his face for a second. Then someone asked if one of those messages was the Redskins begging him to come back.
“I’ve got a job,” he snapped with a steely stare.
Davis’ job tonight will be to help the Carolina Panthers (11-5) beat the Dallas Cowboys (10-6) in the first round of the NFL playoffs.
In one of the best offseason acquisitions of the year, the Panthers snapped Davis up after Washington let him go because he didn’t fit into Spurrier’s scheme. The release left him bitter — he’d spent seven seasons with the Redskins, went to the Pro Bowl three times — and suddenly had to prove he was still a dominant running back.
Although he denied any hurt feelings all season, the way he bowled over blockers and churned out yards said otherwise. He immediately rebuilt the Panthers’ offense, rushing for 100 or more yards in his first four games, and ended with a career-best 1,444 yards and another invitation to the Pro Bowl.
Yet there’s more to prove.
Davis has never had much success against the Cowboys, and this year was no different.
Dallas was the only team to slow a healthy Davis this season, stacking the line and holding him to 59 yards on 26 carries. It forced the game into quarterback Jake Delhomme’s hands, and he couldn’t produce as Dallas won 24-20.
