Dez Bryant does Dez Bryant things in Cowboys’ win over Redskins

We had heard from Dez Bryant lately, but we hadn’t really heard from the Cowboys receiver lately.

His play spoke for him Sunday.

“We needed to get that ball out there to some guys who can get it down the field,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. “…Dez would certainly lead that class.”

Dez did Dez things against the Washington Redskins. He caught seven passes for 102 yards in the Cowboys’ much-needed 27-23 victory.

“Dez is a guy since he’s come into the league who has gotten a lot of attention in every game played since I’ve been around,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. “We just try to get him the ball. He’s a playmaking-type player. We move him around. He plays outside; he plays inside; he runs vertical routes; he runs underneath routes. He’s done a variety of things for us throughout his career, and that’s why he’s been such a productive player, and today was no different.”

But it’s been a long time coming for Bryant.

In the nine games Bryant played last season, he played none healthy. Thus, Bryant ended up with only one 100-yard game, getting 104 yards on five catches against the Philadelphia Eagles on Nov. 8.

“You just have to be patient and let things sink in,” Bryant said. “This is our standard offense with a lot of good playmakers, and you’ve just got to be patient.

“I’m just going to continue being patient. I was excited. We got things done. We’re just going to continue to keep doing the things we need to do.”

The Cowboys listened to questions last week about why Bryant wasn’t more involved in the offense. In Dallas’ 20-19 loss to the New York Giants, rookie Dak Prescott targeted Bryant only five times.

Bryant finished with one catch for 8 yards, the worst game statistically in his career.

“They’re going to do whatever they can to not let him touch the ball,” receiver Cole Beasley said. “Every team is going to do that. But I think we did a better job today of finding him, and he played great and had a good game. I’m just glad he’s on our team.”

The Redskins chose not to have All-Pro cornerback Josh Norman shadow Bryant in the first half, and the Cowboys were able to move Bryant around to get favorable matchups with Bashaud Breeland.

Bryant caught four passes for 56 yards in the first half before the Redskins finally matched up Norman on Bryant.

“Norman is a great player,” Bryant said. “When you go against a guy like that, you’ve got to be on top of your game. He did good. He didn’t get a lot of opportunities his way, so you can’t really say much.”

Bryant, 27, deflected all questions last week about his involvement in the season opener. His standard answer was, “Ask the coaches. I just do what I’m asked.”

Bryant was the same this week as he was last week, but different than he was last season or the previous season or the season before that when he occasionally ranted at not being more involved. Receivers coach Derek Dooley noted Bryant’s maturity last week.

“It was the same attitude, same mindset, same approach as the first [game],” Bryant said. “Didn’t think too high, didn’t think too low, just kept my mind level, and that’s how I’m going to be throughout this whole year, and that’s how the rest of the guys are going to be. The way we practice and the way we go about our business is totally different from these past years.”

This story was originally published September 18, 2016 at 7:39 PM with the headline "Dez Bryant does Dez Bryant things in Cowboys’ win over Redskins."