This time Dez Bryant has to catch it if he wants to be regarded among game's best WRs
Dez Bryant said he wasn’t going to talk about it – that season-breaking catch/no-catch fiasco from the playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers back in January 2015. Admittedly, he couldn’t resist swiping through the #dezcaughtit hashtag when he found out the Cowboys would face the Packers again. Not that he needed the refresher. He still hears about the play virtually every day.
Fans say “it’s January blah, blah, blah, 2017, 3:29 p.m. and I just want the world to know Dez Bryant still caught it,” Bryant said, mocking the obsession. “… I don’t even care. That was [the] 2014 [season]. It’s no extra motivation. It’s nothing.”
“I’m done. I’m done with it.”
The finality must have been metaphorical because Bryant seemed to answer every question about it Thursday. And, really, who could blame him? His career (not to mention quarterback Tony Romo’s) has never been right since that play – a 32-yard gain on fourth-and-2, time dwindling in the fourth quarter, playoff advancement dangling in the balance. The NFL said Dez didn’t catch it. Dallas’ season ended. And down the slippery slope he went.
Two seasons later, Dez Bryant has a special moment in his hands again. And just like that failed catch at Lambeau Field, it could alter careers. Chief among them? Desmond Demond Bryant. The guy who arguably let the season slip away in 2015 might be the one who represents the difference between a good season and a Super Bowl ring. As much as the regular season was about the offensive line and rookies Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott (or even the opportunistic defense), the postseason might be about Bryant, who still has the talent to be the most dominant wide receiver of January and February.
That’s the opportunity this Packers matchup on Sunday offers to Bryant, who has slogged his way through two seasons of injuries and quarterback changes to get back to this stage. A journey that arguably bumped him out of the NFL’s elite receiver category and left him in a tier that is still good but not up to the level expected in the middle of his prime. A first-team All-Pro in that 2014 season, Bryant has had a disappointing two seasons since, leaving him in a place where a litany of younger players have appeared to surpass him.
Bryant’s supporters will protest, but at this moment, few in the NFL’s personnel world would place him alongside guys like Julio Jones, Antonio Bryant, A.J. Green or the mercurial Odell Beckham Jr. Some would rather have Jordy Nelson as their go-to option. Others will argue that when it comes to big-play potential, Mike Evans is a better bet moving forward.
As one evaluator told Yahoo Sports this week, “[He’s] probably more in [the] Brandon Marshall, Demaryius Thomas category of really good, but probably not ‘rare-elite’ guys. … Availability and consistency are probably the things that hold him back the most from being considered elite in my opinion.”
It was much less of a debate two seasons ago, when Tony Romo was an MVP candidate and DeMarco Murray was leading the NFL in rushing for a 2014 Cowboys team that looked like Super Bowl contenders. But that was merely the precursor to the string of jagged peaks and valleys Bryant has experienced since. And it all seemed to begin with the “no catch” against the Packers in the playoffs, which infuriated the fan base and set off a still-continuing debate about what exactly constitutes a reception in the NFL.
A moment that, when revisited by Bryant on Thursday, still evoked strong feelings.
“Nah, we’re not gonna talk about the catch,” he said. “Of course, [the moment] was tough. Yeah, it was heartbreaking. It ended our season. … I was miserable.”
That misery was just the beginning. First, he fired his longtime agents and separated himself from reputed Cowboys “problem solver” David Wells, who would later pop up in legal wrangling over the business ties between Bryant and Texas state Sen. Royce West. Eventually, Bryant got his contract extension done, just in time to break his foot in the 2015 season opener. That and injuries to Romo would destroy his performance in nine games, leading to the worst season of his seven-year career.
Then came 2016, which saw Bryant slowed by a knee injury (forcing him to miss three games) and some frustrating chemistry development with Prescott. The latter point was punctuated in a Dec. 11 loss to the New York Giants, when Bryant was consistently locked out of the game by cornerback Janoris Jenkins and the New York secondary.
Since then, Bryant has come alive in the offense, having his best back-to-back games since the 2014 campaign: 12 receptions for 152 yards and three total touchdowns (two receiving, one passing) in wins against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions. Against the Buccaneers, Bryant caught his eight passes against six different players. Against the Lions, he exposed every cornerback who set up across from him.
But according to a Cowboys source, the most important aspect of the game film from those two wins was this: Bryant caught 12 of 15 targets and took advantage of a game plan that wasn’t force-fed in his direction. Perhaps as much as any two-game slate this season, Bryant fit the role that Dallas wants for him with Prescott under center. That goal? To get Bryant quality targets – not just force the ball to him out of an ill-advised need to get him going.
That’s what has Dallas so excited about Bryant becoming their ace down the stretch. He understands he doesn’t need to catch the most passes to be the devastating receiver in the scheme. Instead, he needs to work to get quality looks in the intermediate and long game and make the most of the opportunities.
“He’s still that guy for us,” wideout Cole Beasley said of Bryant’s ability to be the difference. “Where I play and how I work in the progression kind of enables me to [catch] more balls. He’s still one of the best receivers in the league and our guy. My job is – if he’s getting double-teamed – take advantage of any one-on-one opportunities. And if I’m getting double-teamed, it’s the same for him. You can’t double-team everybody.”
That’s a patience that Dallas seemed to learn best after Prescott struggled the most against the Giants. And it led the coaching staff to once again focus on his chemistry with Bryant. The message was simple: The offense has looked its worst when the passing game has been forced into Bryant’s direction. Conversely, it has looked the best when Prescott has spread the ball elsewhere to help loosen up coverage schemes that were still tilted in Bryant’s direction.
It’s a safe bet the game plan will be much of the same against a Packers secondary that is depleted and will likely find itself giving Bryant some significant openings as the game goes along. In short, two years after letting the offseason opportunity of his career slip away, Bryant will have his chance to seize it one more time.
What that means for this Dallas passing game … well …
“I’m not gonna get into that,” he said. “Watch the game Sunday.”
