GREEN BAY, Wis. -- For everything that has gone wrong this season, and on Sunday, one player is proving the Dallas Cowboys right.
Dallas traded up for the chance to take receiver Dez Bryant in April.
While other teams had questions about Bryant, the Cowboys were convinced he was a difference-maker.
So far, so great.
The Cowboys had only one first down in their first four possessions before Jon Kitna began connecting with Bryant in their 2-minute offense.
First, it was a Bryant catch for 13 yards. Then, on the next play, Bryant went deep for 41 yards to the Green Bay 2-yard line. Two plays and two incompletions later, Kitna threw a jump ball to Bryant, who outleaped Sam Shields for the touchdown.
In the Cowboys' 45-7 loss to the Packers, Bryant caught a career-high nine passes for a career-high 86 yards. He was the lone bright spot, though he did lose a fumble in the fourth quarter.
With quarterback Tony Romo on the sideline, his arm in a sling, the Cowboys had only 205 yards total offense, half of them in garbage time. Kitna was 19 for 30 for 183 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. He was sacked four times.
The Cowboys ran for only 39 yards.
Yet, among all the bad news was Bryant.
The 24th overall pick is good for at least one big play a game. He had a 93-yard punt return for a touchdown against the Giants to go with two 15-yard touchdown receptions. He had a 62-yard punt return for a touchdown against the Bears.
Two weeks ago, the Cowboys said it was up to Bryant how much more of an impact he had this season.
He began the season behind on offense, having missed all but a week of training camp with a high-ankle sprain. He tweaked his right ankle twice during the season, which, for a few weeks, limited his practice time.
But he appears to be starting to grasp the playbook, getting more playing time because he is making fewer rookie mistakes. (His fumble of a punt in the fourth quarter stemmed from his trying to make something out of nothing in a game already decided.)
Last week against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Bryant caught seven passes for 83 yards. Then, there was Sunday.
For the season, Bryant has 54 touches -- including punts and kickoffs -- for 662 yards and six touchdowns.
The Sporting News conducted a midseason poll of a hundred NFL players, and St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford was the winner of the "best rookie" award, with Bryant a distant second. If there was a revote this week, it might be closer.
Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith has called Bryant "awesome."
The Cowboys had predicted that the day they drafted Bryant
Dallas traded up for the chance to take receiver Dez Bryant in April.
While other teams had questions about Bryant, the Cowboys were convinced he was a difference-maker.
So far, so great.
The Cowboys had only one first down in their first four possessions before Jon Kitna began connecting with Bryant in their 2-minute offense.
First, it was a Bryant catch for 13 yards. Then, on the next play, Bryant went deep for 41 yards to the Green Bay 2-yard line. Two plays and two incompletions later, Kitna threw a jump ball to Bryant, who outleaped Sam Shields for the touchdown.
In the Cowboys' 45-7 loss to the Packers, Bryant caught a career-high nine passes for a career-high 86 yards. He was the lone bright spot, though he did lose a fumble in the fourth quarter.
With quarterback Tony Romo on the sideline, his arm in a sling, the Cowboys had only 205 yards total offense, half of them in garbage time. Kitna was 19 for 30 for 183 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. He was sacked four times.
The Cowboys ran for only 39 yards.
Yet, among all the bad news was Bryant.
The 24th overall pick is good for at least one big play a game. He had a 93-yard punt return for a touchdown against the Giants to go with two 15-yard touchdown receptions. He had a 62-yard punt return for a touchdown against the Bears.
Two weeks ago, the Cowboys said it was up to Bryant how much more of an impact he had this season.
He began the season behind on offense, having missed all but a week of training camp with a high-ankle sprain. He tweaked his right ankle twice during the season, which, for a few weeks, limited his practice time.
But he appears to be starting to grasp the playbook, getting more playing time because he is making fewer rookie mistakes. (His fumble of a punt in the fourth quarter stemmed from his trying to make something out of nothing in a game already decided.)
Last week against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Bryant caught seven passes for 83 yards. Then, there was Sunday.
For the season, Bryant has 54 touches -- including punts and kickoffs -- for 662 yards and six touchdowns.
The Sporting News conducted a midseason poll of a hundred NFL players, and St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford was the winner of the "best rookie" award, with Bryant a distant second. If there was a revote this week, it might be closer.
Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith has called Bryant "awesome."
The Cowboys had predicted that the day they drafted Bryant