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The team's star receiver, Dez Bryant, capped off an ugly week with a lackluster effort on the final play of the game. Bryant showed zero effort on said play, which gave way to an easy interception for Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Bradley McDougald. The pick not only sealed a Cowboys loss in Week 10, but perhaps the fate of their season as a whole.
This week was mired in controversy, and Bryant's effort on that final play did nothing to change the situation brewing down in Dallas.
First, it was the locker room incident with ESPN reporter Jean-Jacques Taylor where Bryant went on a now widely publicized tirade accusing Taylor of having used the N-word in a disagreement with teammate Devin Street. Whether Taylor did in fact use the N-word is still unknown, but Bryant was already out for blood with Taylor prior to this incident in the locker room.
Consider this bit from Bernie Augustine of the New York Daily News:
Bryant was upset about something a reporter had written, and had been asking for days where he was. Bryant confronted ESPN reporter Jean-Jacques Taylor about the story — which said that the Cowboys needed increased production from Bryant — before Bryant’s teammate, Devin Street got involved.
Bryant went out of his way to confront Taylor over his having disrespected the Cowboys.
Really?
The Cowboys came into their Week 10 matchup having lost six games in a row, and Dez went off on a reporter for disrespecting the team? That's utterly ridiculous.
Jason Garrett, one of a select few members of Cowboys management with a clear head, addressed the situation Friday, telling reporters: "Dez didn’t handle that situation the right way. We have to understand the world that we live in, and we have tried to make that abundantly clear to him and our football team."
The piece that incited Bryant was tame in terms of placing blame on on him for the team's struggles, and Dez took issue with it.
After all that, Bryant headed out onto the field Sunday and put forth one of the worst performances of his 2015 season.
After logging four catches for 41 yards in the first half, Bryant pulled a disappearing act in the second half, hauling in just one catch for four yards in the final 30 minutes of play. Bryant would resurface late though, helping to put what could be the final nail in the Cowboys' coffin with this lackluster effort:
Bryant pleaded for a pass-interference call—whether there was or wasn't pass interference on the play is an argument for another day—but it doesn't change the fact that he seemingly gave up on the biggest play of the game, and perhaps the team's season as a whole.
Bleacher Report's NFL Lead Writer Matt Miller went so far as to call Bryant's effort on the play "piss-poor."
It was piss-poor, and although he owned up to his mistake, Bryant's description of that game's final play (via ESPN's Todd Archer) should have Cowboys fans seething:
I thought I was going to get it. It's unfortunate. Me as a player and the attitude I have, I was so caught up in that little quick moment, of I know the ref seen it and know he's going to call it but he didn't. I'm not trying to make excuses, but it just kind of threw me off my target. I wasn't focused on it. Just an unfortunate situation.
Bryant literally described himself as having given up on the play in anticipation of a pass interference penalty. And he "lost 'focus?'" During the biggest moment of his season?
That, in a nutshell, is the problem with this Cowboys team. They lack focus, and it showed in their 10-6 loss to a Buccaneers team that came into Week 10 at just 3-5.
At 2-7 through 10 weeks of play, it appears as though Dez isn't the only one who's given up on the Cowboys.
Follow me on Twitter. Follow @TylerDuma
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