Dallas Cowboys: Dez Bryant must dominate in Week 9

Playing in his first game since suffering a broken foot in the Dallas Cowboys Week 1 win over the rival New York Giants, superstar wide receiver Dez Bryant found it difficult to get anything going against elite Seattle Seahawks CB Richard Sherman. When lining up on the left side of the field, Bryant couldn’t muster a single catch on three targets, and it didn’t help that the Cowboys had Matt Cassel at QB, who averaged just 3.9 yards per attempt with 97 passing yards, and no running game (lead back Darren McFadden averaged a meager 3.2 yards per carry) to work with.

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This week, Bryant and the Cowboys will get an easier matchup, but the Philadelphia Eagles defense isn’t exactly a cakewalk. The Week 9 primetime matchup on Sunday Night Football in Dallas will pit the ‘Boys against a team that is in the top half of the league in scoring defense and eight in net yards per pass attempt allowed, per Pro-Football Reference.

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Thanks to Byron Maxwell‘s early-season struggles, the Eagles are 26th in the NFL in DVOA against No. 1 wide receivers, as per Football Outsiders, but, unfortunately for the Cowboys, Maxwell has figured things out in time to face Bryant. His bounce-back performances include a credible effort against Odell Beckham Jr., and he was impressive in the prior week against the New Orleans Saints wideouts.

That said, Bryant vs. Maxwell is a matchup that should favor the former player, even if he’s handicapped by his quarterback situation. Bryant is the type of elite receiver who should be able to excel against any non top-five CB (such as a Sherman or Darrelle Revis), but, more fundamentally, he has to be dominant this week.

We can say what we want about Cassel and Brandon Weeden, but the fact of the matter is that the Cowboys desperately need Bryant to come in and carry this offense with Tony Romo still on the shelf. No. 2 wideout Terrance Williams surpassed 50 receiving yards just once without Romo at QB, and he’s never had five receptions in a single game without Bryant in the lineup. Meanwhile, slot receiver Cole Beasley hasn’t caught a pass in back-to-back games and has just one outing with at least five receptions on the season.

So, essentially, in one game, Bryant has had as many five-catch games as each of the other two top three wide receivers on the Cowboys offense. He did absolutely nothing of note, outside of one 15-yard catch on third down, against Sherman and the Seahawks on Sunday, but the most important thing is the fact that he was able to hold up on his foot and managed to play more snaps than any other wideout on the team upon his return.

Bryant’s improving health is a huge positive for a Cowboys offense that has clearly lacked bright spots over the past month or so, and it’s all on their big-money receiver to carry the day this week against the rival Eagles. The 2-5 Cowboys are last in the division, but a win over the Eagles would critically bump them over their Week 9 opponents in the division standings. And not only would both teams move to 3-5, but the Cowboys, who prevailed in Week 2 with Romo at QB, would have a season sweep over Chip Kelly’s squad.

Sep 13, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant (88) runs on the field before the game against the New York Giants at AT&T Stadium. Dallas won 27-26. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

What Bryant needs to do is channel his anger stemming from Sunday’s incident and subsequent tirade directed at the media and have a season-defining performance.

Maxwell is slowly starting to make up for his nightmare start to the 2015 season, but, again, this is the type of matchup Bryant is capable of winning. He needs to go off for this team to have a chance, and it’s easy to bet on a guy who had over 1,300 receiving yards and exactly one touchdown per game in 2014.

Cassel may be a dreadful quarterback who throws far too many interceptions, but we do know that he’s willing to challenge defenses and has the arm strength and willingness to hit up Bryant.

It’s time for him to feed his top target, and big success from Bryant would go a long way to opening up some balance on the ground for the Cowboys and space for the deep threat Williams, who has been awfully quiet without the elite WR in the lineup.

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