IRVING, Texas (AP) – The day Terence Newman became the NFC defensive player of the week, honoring his three-interception performance against Washington, he spent his lunch hour the way he usually does.

Watching film? Studying the playbook? Basking in his own glory for TV cameras, like Deion Sanders did when he was a star cornerback for the Dallas Cowboys?

Nah. Newman was sprawled out on a sofa, sound asleep, a towel covering his head.

Such nonchalance is typical from this rookie who amazes teammates with his maturity, confidence and, especially, athletic ability.

“I just believe in myself,” Newman said after his slumber was interrupted by the five-minute call until a team meeting. “If you don’t believe in yourself, then that’s going to be a big problem.”

Since Newman joined the secondary, Dallas’ defense has jumped from middle-of-the-pack to among the league’s best. They’re No. 1 statistically, giving up 253.7 yards per game and 160.5 yards passing. Compare that to 329.2 and 215.6 last season.

That improvement is a major reason why the Cowboys (9-5) will have a winning record for the first time since 1998. They’re also one win from making the playoffs for the first time since 1999. They can clinch it with a victory Sunday against the New York Giants (4-10).

Newman hasn’t made the entire difference. There are two other new starters, changes in the rotation and the arrival of coach Bill Parcells.

Yet Newman is certainly the prized addition, primarily because of coverage skills that have helped prod coaches into calling more blitzes without fear of getting beat deep.

Newman does it with the speed that made him a two-time Big 12 champion in the 100 meters, and an ability to break on the ball that Dallas quarterback Quincy Carter calls the best he’s ever seen.

“From the first day he came here, we’ve seen the talent he has,” Carter said. “The biggest thing you see in Terence that you don’t normally see in a rookie is that he’s applying that talent so early.”

Dallas made Newman the fifth overall pick in April, then gave him a $13 million signing bonus. He began earning it right away.

After becoming just the third rookie cornerback in team history to start an opener, he snagged his first interception the next week. His first sack came in the fourth game, even if it was merely running a quarterback out of bounds.

Going into the game against Washington last Sunday, Newman had been around the ball enough to lead the club in passes broken up. But he was still looking for his second interception.

He got it midway through the second quarter, picking off a pass at the 7-yard line to protect a 7-0 lead. He got another one two passes later, returning it 25 yards to the Redskins’ 9-yard line to set up a touchdown that sent the Cowboys rolling to a 27-0 victory.

His third interception, which came late in the third quarter, tied a club record. He’s the fourth to do it in a regular-season game, the first since 1981 and the only rookie. His four pickoffs this season leads all rookies.

“Yeah, it’s satisfying. But that’s your job,” Newman said. “You’re just doing your job and doing it pretty good.”

Carter was impressed Newman came up so big in the 14th game. After all, Newman only played that many games once in his four seasons at Kansas State.

Then again, Newman is 25, several years older than most rookies. And teammates say he carries himself with a veteran swagger. Cool, confident and never rattled is how defensive tackle La’Roi Glover describes him.

About the only thing Newman hasn’t done is return kicks. Although he excelled at it in college, Parcells has shied from that idea since draft day. He hedged Wednesday, saying he’s tempted to start using Newman on punts.

Focusing only on cornerback, Newman has quickly become Dallas’ best cover man since Sanders. Newman, though, is more of a prime-time tackler.

Newman has 70 stops, fourth-best on the team and four more than Sanders had in any of his 12 seasons. With three more, Newman will have the most by a Dallas cornerback since 2000.

Because Glover plays on the line, he rarely sees Newman’s handiwork until watching game films. Yet there was one instance when he couldn’t help but notice on the field.

“He came up and stuffed the run real good, then he stood up, hollering and screaming at the top of his lungs, “I’m a road block! I’m a road block! You can’t run my way!”‘ Glover said. “I was like, “Wow, I haven’t heard a cornerback come up and do that in a long time.”‘