Stephen Bowen life and biography

PRO:
Now in his fifth season, Stephen Bowen has settled in as a dependable pass rusher in nickel situations and as a regular in the defensive line rotation for the Dallas Cowboys. He uses his intelligence and technique to give Dallas a serious pass rushing threat off the bench, and for the third straight season, established personal highs for tackles (31), sacks (3.0) and pressures (33 - tied for third on the team) in 2009. His continued improvement in each of the previous three seasons should give Bowen an even greater role in the defensive line rotation after originally making the Cowboys practice squad as an undrafted free agent out of Hofstra in 2006. He moved to the active roster at the mid-way point of his rookie season and has remained a fixture ever since.

2009:
# Bettered his single-season high in tackles (31) and sacks (3.0) while tying for third on the squad with a career-high 33 quarterback pressures.
# Opened the season at Tampa Bay (9/13) with four tackles and two pressures before tacking on two more tackles in the Cowboys Stadium opener against the N.Y. Giants (9/20).
# Notched his first sack of the season - second of his career - with a seven-yard takedown of Kyle Orton to go along with a pressure at Denver (10/4).
# Had three tackles, one for a loss, and a then career-best four pressures in the overtime win at Kansas City (10/11).
# Made a season-high four tackles with one pressure and his first career deflection in the win against Seattle (11/1).
# Earned his first career start as the club opened the game in its nickel package, finishing with two tackles and three pressures at Philadelphia (11/8).
# Tied his season-best with four tackles along with his first career forced fumble on a sack at Green Bay (11/15).
# Notched three tackles, two pressures and a breakup against Washington (11/22) before tacking on his third sack of the season with three tackles and two pressures against San Diego (12/13).
# Tied his then season and career-best with four pressures with one pass breakup at the previously undefeated Saints (12/19).
# Upped his single-game career-high with five quarterback pressures as the club shutout Philadelphia (1/3/10) to claim the NFC East title.
# Had two tackles and two pressures as the club did not yield a rushing first down for the first time in team playoff history in the Wild Card Playoff win over Philadelphia (1/9/10).
# Finished with five tackles in the Divisional Playoff loss at Minnesota (1/17/10).

2008:
# Posted a then career-best 28 tackles along with nine quarterback hurries.
# Opened the season with three tackles and a quarterback hurry at Cleveland (9/7).
# At the N.Y. Giants (11/2) registered a season-high five tackles along with two quarterback hurries.
# Posted his first career tackle for a loss against San Francisco (11/23) along with three tackles.
# Had four tackles and a tackle for loss against Baltimore (12/20) in the final game at Texas Stadium.

2007:
# In his first full NFL season, tied for fourth on the team with nine quarterback pressures (tied for second among defensive linemen).
# Worked into the defensive line rotation as a backup to Chris Canty at right end.
# His 23 tackles were good for fifth on the team among defensive linemen.
# Recorded his first tackle of the year in the win at Chicago (9/23). Also tied his season-high total for quarterback pressures against the Bears with two.
# In the win over Green Bay (11/29), his quarterback pressure led to an interception by Ken Hamlin.
# Recorded a season-high four tackles - tied for fourth on the team - while tying his season-high with two quarterback pressures in the loss to Philadelphia (12/16).

2006:
# Earned a spot on the Cowboys practice squad after training camp and was elevated to the team's active roster after eight games on Nov. 7.
# Was inactive for his first seven games on the active roster, but made his NFL debut in the season-ending loss to Detroit (12/31).
# Recorded his first career sack, dropping Jon Kitna for a six-yard loss, to go along with one other tackle in the loss to the Lions.
# Was inactive for the playoff loss at Seattle (1/6/07).

COLLEGE:

# A two year starter at Hofstra, finished his career with 168 tackles, 11.5 sacks and one interception - which he returned for a touchdown.
# As a senior, had 11 tackles for a loss and two passes defensed.
# As a junior, had a career-high nine tackles at New Hampshire and had eight stops in two other games.
# Finished his junior year with a career-high 68 tackles.
# Played in all 12 games as a sophomore, recording 49 stops, three sacks and one fumble recovery.

PERSONAL:

# Stephen Alexander Bowen attended Half Hollow Hills West High School in Dix, N.Y.
# Was a standout performer in both football and basketball.
# As a senior, recorded 235 rushing yards and four touchdowns to go along with 330 receiving yards and five touchdowns. Also had 97 tackles on defense.
# He and his wife, Tiffany, have one girl, Trinity.

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