Dez Bryant Crying: Cowboys WR’s Emotions Shouldn’t Overshadow Stellar Season
Dallas Cowboys star wide receiver Dez Bryant has let his emotions get the better of him on several occasions this season, most notably late in Week 15’s loss to the Green Bay Packers. But Bryant’s occasional tears of frustration shouldn’t overshadow the impressive season he’s had in 2013.
After Week 15’s 11-catch, 153-yard and one-touchdown performance against Green Bay, Bryant has surpassed 1,000 yards receiving for the second straight season and has now caught at least one touchdowns in eight of Dallas’ 14 games this year.
It’s also worth noting that only Jimmy Graham, Vernon Davis and Calvin Johnson have caught more touchdown passes than Bryant through 15 weeks.
And with two games still left to play at Washington in Week 16 and vs. Philadelphia in Week 17, Bryant will have a shot to finish with career-high marks in terms of receptions, yards and touchdowns. He only needs 12 catches, 322 yards and two touchdowns the rest of the way to improve upon last year’s breakout season.
So while Bryant’s early departure from the sideline in Week 15’s gut-wrenching loss to the Packers certainly hurts his image, it’s clearly not enough to cloud his remarkable 2013 campaign.
After all, you can’t blame Bryant’s sideline behavior for Dallas’ most recent collapse. And, in fact, the argument can easily be made that if not for Bryant’s incredible fourth-quarter touchdown catch over a Packers defender in the back of the end zone, the Cowboys would have had zero chance at fending off Green Bay’s late comeback.
Bryant’s tremendous display of athleticism put the Cowboys up by 12 points with under eight minutes to play. So while his premature journey to the locker room is inexcusable, it’s not difficult to understand the source of Bryant’s frustration. Bryant had just played arguably his best game of the season, but had to watch helplessly as poor play-calling let the Packers back into the game.
In the end, Dallas’ epic collapse is the No. 1 issue that must be dissected, not Bryant’s inability to control his emotions.
Bryant’s behavior must be addressed moving forward, but his emotions aren’t holding the Cowboys back from winning football games the same way Tony Romo’s mistakes or Jason Garrett’s misguided coaching decisions are.
The bottom line is that the 25-year-old has played lights-out all year long and can’t be blamed for the Cowboys’ struggles, even if his sideline antics make him an easy target.
