The Dallas Cowboys have had a season to remember. They won the NFC East and finished with a 13-3 record which was good enough for the #1 seed in the NFC. They accomplished this on the back of two rookies, Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott. These rookies have taken the league by storm and surprised everyone with their amazing play.
With that being said this season has not been an amazing one for all of stars on this roster. Dez Bryant struggled mightily and his frustration was only lessened due to the fact they were winning. He never seemed to gel with Quarterback Dak Prescott and his stats displayed this. Bryant only had 50 receptions, 796 receiving yards and 8 touchdowns this season. Only his rookie campaign did he have lower numbers across the board. (Taking out last season since he only played 9 games) Luckily for Bryant he has a chance to make up for his lackluster season. This chance comes in Sundays playoff game against Green Bay Packers.
The Packers are a team that has been horrendous defensively against the Pass. In fact, the Packers defense ranks worst in the league against the Pass giving up 287.7 yards per game. Other statistics don’t paint a much better picture for the Packers defense. They rank last in passing yards per attempt (8.1) and are 21st in scoring giving up 24.3 points per game.
Now I understand this defense did keep Odell in check last week but that had little to do with this Packers defense. Odell was able to get himself open on many occasions and if not for his 3 drops would’ve ended up torching this Packers secondary. Add in the fact that this Cowboys offense has the best offensive line in the league alone with the premiere rushing game and you have yourself a match made in heaven for Dez. Now I don’t expect Dez to catch for over 150 yards or even have over 10 targets.
The way the Cowboys offense runs is through ball control rather than them trying to create big plays. Dak also loves to use the variety of receivers at his disposal which takes away from some of the targets Dez has gotten in the past. Dez’s impact on this game is going to be felt in a much different way. They need Dez to be there go to guy on third down. They need Dez to go up and grab that fifty-fifty ball late in the 4th quarter. Dez may not break any records with these plays but he will certainly break the will of a Packers defense who is just hoping they can give Rodgers a chance to win this game.
Since coming into the NFL Dez has only made the playoffs one time. During that playoff run the Cowboys went 1-1 and Dez played mediocre at best. Sure we can debate the catch that wasn’t a catch until we are blue in the face but that won’t change the outcome of the play. Dez has a chance to make up for that catch. Dez has a chance propel a franchise to a place it hasn’t been in over 20 years. Dez has a chance to propel the Dallas Cowboys to the Super Bowl and this opportunity may never come around again. The Cowboys aren’t going to win this game without contributions from Dez Bryant. Luckily for the Cowboys I have faith Dez is poised to do just that.
Score Prediction: Cowboys 28 Packers 24
