Dez: “I Had To Play My Part” After Struggling Early

Dez Bryant is always a popular interview, so it speaks volumes that the media crush at his locker was too much for him to walk through on Sunday.

That’s to be expected when the Dallas Cowboys’ star receiver comes down with a circus catch that helps decide an overtime game – and that’s not lost on the team.

“I’ve seen a lot of clutch catches. I’ve seen guys make a lot of plays. But certainly that ranks up there when you think about overtime,” said Cowboys coach Jason Garrett.

Talking to a crowd of no less than 30 reporters at his postgame locker, Bryant said his focus was singular when Tony Romo lofted him a third down prayer halfway through a tied overtime period against Houston.

“I just outfought him. I just had to come down with it,” Bryant said. “I’m just trying to put us in the best situations to get the W, and that’s exactly what we did.”

Bryant was absolutely blanketed on the 37-yard reception – the catch that would ultimately set the Cowboys up for a game-winning field goal. Houston cornerback Jonathan Joseph, who was beaten on the play, simply tipped his cap.

“I don’t think I could have any better coverage than what I had on the play,” Joseph said. “It is the NFL – those guys get paid to make the catch there.”

To hear it from Bryant, the snag wasn’t even the best of his career. Though he couldn’t come up with a more spectacular grab himself, his one-handed touchdown last season against Detroit was thrown out as a possible topper.

“Let’s see, I got a lot of them – I’ve got to get back to y’all,” he said.

In terms of the moment, though – referencing the oft-repeated term clutch – Bryant agreed that an overtime catch to set up a game-winning field goal just might have been the biggest of his career.

“Yeah, I agree – today,” he said.

The big gain seriously improved a so-so stat line for Bryant on the day. Though he did manage his fourth touchdown of the season in the fourth quarter, Bryant had just eight catches for 48 yards to that

point in the game. He also dropped a screen pass on the Cowboys’ final drive of regulation, as Dallas drove for a potential game-winning field goal.

“I didn't play my best game at all, and I’ve got to give credit to Coach Dooley,” Bryant said. “He came over and told me ‘Keep playing, keep on playing. You know who you are.’ That’s exactly what I did. I let four quarters go by, and it’s a whole new ballgame – overtime came. I had to play my part.”