Dez Bryant and Josh Norman were at each other’s throats for 60 minutes on Thursday, and the feud continued after the Dallas Cowboys got the best of the Washington Redskins. But who won?
That depends who you ask.
Bryant caught five passes for 72 yards, and Norman did not shadow him on every play. The star receiver felt the production was enough, however, as he believes he exposed Norman.
“I won’t say emotional on my end, I’m [going to] say emotional on his end,” Bryant told NFL Network’s Jane Slater when asked about the jawing. “I was perfectly fine. I was just wearing his ass out the whole night. That’s what I was doing, and I enjoyed it. Washington needs to get their money back.”
According to Pro Football Focus, Bryant was targeted five times with Norman covering him and caught three passes for 32 yards. While Bryant torched the Redskins for 102 yards in Week 2, PFF says he had no catches on two targets while being covered by Norman. Bryant did not find the end zone in either meeting, and Norman feels the numbers say it all.
“But I’m trash and he beat me all day?” Norman asked. “I just don’t get it, I don’t understand. But if that boost his ego, or feed him some fuel or whatever kind of thing he got in his head, so be it. But I’ve played the guy three times already and my numbers speak for themselves. He can go and cry, holler, hoot, whatever you want, at the end of the day, zero touchdowns.”
Bryant insists the numbers don’t tell the whole story, and he shared a clip on Twitter that appeared to show him burning Norman on a play where Prescott did not throw Bryant the ball.
All through the week I will post film how Norman got exposed… https://t.co/WKWE9IdQYr
— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) November 25, 2016
At the end of the day, all that matters is the Cowboys getting the win. Bryant shouldn’t bother continuing the verbal sparring match after the final whistle sounds, especially if it means calling attention to his own quarterback missing him when he was wide open. Given the history between the two, we aren’t surprised neither could bite his tongue.
