ARLINGTON, Texas — It wasn't the homecoming Taco Charlton had hoped for, but the outcome was certainly something Robert Quinn is pleased with.

The two defensive ends have had wildly different (and yet eerily similar) arcs in 2019, with the latter being brought in by way of trade with the Miami Dolphins, and the former having been released by the Dallas Cowboys only days ahead of facing that very team -- who then claimed Charlton off waivers and deemed him active against Quinn and his former team. 

By virtue of Quinn having also been suspended the first two games to start the season, not only were both players also making their debut for their respective team, but it was ultimately Quinn's return that helped shove Charlton out of the door; with Charlton also having not played in the first two games of the regular season due to being a healthy scratch by the Cowboys. 

It's a script right out of the movie "Freaky Friday," minus the mysterious fortune cookies.  

Both went on to land their first sack of 2019 on Sunday when the Cowboys and Dolphins squared off, but Quinn's was more definitive. Charlton's came on a designed bootleg by Dallas that turned into a broken play and could've been simply a throwaway by Prescott, who jokingly made it known that while he still has love for Charlton -- the sack was basically a gift. 

Of course, Prescott may have been joking, but then again maybe not when considering many thought he would indeed throw the ball away. For his part, Charlton had a few things of his own to say following the 31-6 blowout at the hands of the Cowboys, and it marks the first time he's spoken publicly since being released and claimed.

"It went fast," he said. "I traveled to Miami on Thursday night and traveled back to Dallas on Saturday. It has been a fast week. A short week for me to get prepared for a game. It is always good to come back here and play a game."

Despite having just a Friday walkthrough with the Dolphins, Charlton was on the field two days later.

"At first, I wasn't expecting it when I first got picked up," he said. "I was hungry to play, always. I wanted to play, but I just knew I didn't get there until Friday. I knew it would be a long stretch. I appreciate the coach letting me get out there and get a chance to make things happen to try to win the ballgame."

And did he have added motivation lining up against the team that discarded him only two seasons after giving him the nod as their 28th-overall pick in 2017?

"I will go out there and try to do my best, period," he said. "Whether I am going against the Cowboys or next week against the Chargers. Whatever it is, I try to make plays and I try to help this team win ballgames. It is my former team, so of course I am going against guys I practiced with every day. We talk trash 24/7. There is always that extra fight to want to win against them, and the same with them against me."

Charlton battled injury issues on the back end of his two-year stint with the Cowboys, along with what was seen as attitude issues. Owner Jerry Jones openly admits that Charlton was a "miss" on the part of the Cowboys and that the 24-year-old would often "wilt" when things didn't go his way in practice. It all led to the team first attempting to trade him over the course of the last several months before finally deciding to let him walk following his "free me" demand made via Twitter only two days prior.

As both sides now move on, Charlton says time will tell if the divorce was his fault, or the Cowboys'.

"On the field -- if you go three years down the line -- we will get to see who is right and who is wrong," he said. "It is on me [for now]. I get to play football, and then I get to get down to what I do."

The tone of Charlton's battle with the Cowboys is in stark contrast to that of Quinn, who was in a Dolphins uniform this time last season. 

"It's just another team on the schedule," Quinn said. "Coming in, the team was doing well without me, so I was just trying to come in and do my part. I didn't try to hold back. I just wanted to win the game. 

"...I felt good. I felt fresh. Just a little concern coming in on how my lungs were going to hold up, but as the game went on -- I feel like I got stronger and stronger."

That he did, and so did the Cowboys when the second half rolled around -- going on to send Charlton out of Dallas with his second loss in just four days.