ARLINGTON, Texas – Cole Beasley chuckled when asked about his second career 100-yard outing.
"To be honest, I thought it was my first," he told reporters following the Cowboys' 40-7 drubbing of Jacksonville.
The Cowboys' shifty slot receiver was quickly reminded that he tallied 112 receiving yards in a 2016 win against the Eagles – but that's beside the point. For an offense that has struggled to throw the ball, the Cowboys made play after play against the NFL's No. 1 passing defense on Sunday.
The fact that most of those plays were made by Beasley, to the tune of 101 yards and two touchdowns, only underscored the turnaround. After all, it was only last week that he was limited to just one catch for eight yards in an overtime game.
"We saw on film – even though they're the No. 1 defense, we still saw on defense that there were plays to be made," Beasley said. "We actually said it earlier in the week – we can beat these guys, but we also can blow them out if we execute the way we know we can."
From talking to Cowboys players after the game, it's evident that they felt good about the Jaguars' propensity for man-to-man defense. If anyone needed a reminder the Beasley is successful against man coverage, he provided that on Sunday.
Dak Prescott targeted his slot receiver a whopping 11 times, watching Beasley come down with the ball nine times – including for touchdowns of 17 yards and nine yards.
To hear it from the quarterback, Beasley had a good feeling that a big day was coming.
"He was texting me last Friday night, saying he was taking care of his body and you could just tell it," Prescott said. "It was just energy, ready to go. He was preparing to have a big game, and that is exactly what he did."
Honestly, you shouldn't have needed Prescott to tell you Beasley's head was in the game. Typically a fairly laid back guy, Beasley seemed to carry an edge throughout the game, fighting for extra yardage and jawing at Jacksonville defenders.
Asked about it afterward, Beasley smiled.
"Game plan, man. I knew I had a lot of opportunities today, and I was ready," he said. "And then, maybe it was a little social media action."
If you pay any attention to Twitter, that last line shouldn't come as a surprise. Beasley has never been shy about expressing his opinions on social media, and that rang true in the wake of last week's loss to Houston. Beasley went back and forth with fans on several different occasions, detailing conversations about his contract, the Cowboys' offense and his production.
Beasley said he didn't think about that during the game – although perhaps it added an extra bit of motivation.
"There's a lot of naysayers and a lot of people that are trying to tell me what I am, but it doesn't mean anything," he said. "I know what I'm capable of. I got a lot of opportunities tonight, and it's just another day of showing it."
With Beasley showing his stuff – with a noteworthy assist from an efficient Dallas run game – this Cowboys offense finally looked like a unit that can make some hay in the NFL. With so many new faces in the huddle, Beasley said he knew it was going to take some time to figure things out.
Hopefully for both Beasley and his teammates, it's just the start of a new trend.
"We're getting there," he said. "I think we're possibly turning the corner."
