Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant made an extraordinary play in Monday’s win over the Arizona Cardinals, dragging multiple defenders into the end zone for a touchdown.
It was the first real highlight-reel play of the young season for a player in Bryant who has struggled finding a connection with young quarterback Dak Prescott.
But if we were to ask Bryant about his lagging stats through the first three games, the star pass catcher doesn’t seem to be the least bit concerned.
“That don’t bother me because I know who I am. Just because certain people don’t see me get targets this game, it don’t mean nothing. I feel like I got great film, I got great tape,” Bryant said Tuesday, via the Dallas Morning News. “That’s what I care about. That was my whole focus, coming out and putting great film out, and I think I did that (Monday night).”
Stats can definitely lie. But up to this point in the season, the tape tells us a story of a player in Bryant who has failed to get separation in the passing game. It started against NFC East nemesis Janoris Jenkins in Week 1 and continued in a blowout loss to Aqib Talib, Chris Harris and the Denver Broncos in Week 2.
Then, on Monday night, Bryant was held to just two catches for 12 yards. In fact, Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson did not allow a single completion in coverage.
Through three games, the 28-year-old Bryant has caught 11-of-27 passes for an absurdly low 41 percent reception rate. For comparison’s sake, Prescott is completing 70 percent of his passes to the rest of his teammates.
So while Bryant might not be concerned, it’s readily apparent he’s no longer Prescott’s favorite target in the Cowboys’ passing attack. That has to be of concern for fans in Dallas.