EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Dez Bryant didn't exactly have words for the jaw-dropping touchdown catch by Odell Beckham Jr., so much as an outburst of wonderment.
"Like 'Whoo!' – some of my work," Bryant said.
That's high praise coming from Bryant, whose highlight reel of circus catches would last several minutes. But even when put on the spot and asked if Beckham's 43-yard, one-handed snag was better than Bryant's best, the veteran tipped his cap to the rookie.
"Oh, man. I've got to give it to him. I have to give it to him," Bryant said. "Like I said, he's one of those guys that's 'Hey, I want to make a play.' I respect guys like that. Hats off to him."
Beckham, the Giants' rookie sensation, seemed destined to steal Sunday's headlines in the early going. He finished the night with 10 catches for 146 yards and two touchdowns – one of them being that catch, which is being universally hailed as one of the all-time greats.
All of that said, the crush of reporters at Bryant's postgame locker served as an obvious reminder of the lead story. After being held to three catches for 30 yards in the first half Sunday night, Bryant exploded in a big second half to help lead the Cowboys past their division rivals – a similar performance to his second half dominance last month against this same team.
"We knew what we had to do coming out in the second half, and whenever we get the ball we need to make something happen and make it count. I think that's what we did," Bryant said.
Bryant made the Giants pay every time he touched the ball after halftime, as his first reception of the second half went for a 31-yard touchdown. He'd log three of his seven catches on the night on the game-winning drive, going for four and eight yards on the way downfield, before Tony Romo found him in the back of the end zone for the 13-yard, go-ahead touchdown.
Given an amazing amount of time by his offensive line, Romo found Bryant after roughly seven seconds in the pocket.
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"Come on, man. You wasn't even surprised. Tony's the best at extending plays – he's the best at it," Bryant said. "We have to stay alive because we know Tony have that special ability of keeping, extending plays. You have to show him a target."
It was a good catch, but it wasn't as memorable as the one Beckham had made roughly two hours prior. Asked about that fact, Bryant was more than happy to point out the NFL's all-important statistic – the result.
"I do like seeing wide receivers ball out in this league," he said. "I'm a fan of all wideouts, and I love it. I love the catch, but I'm happy we got the W."
Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones summed the situation up nicely when asked about facing Beckham – a prospect he said he doesn't look forward to over the next few years. Having acknowledged that fact Jones added that his playmaker proved plenty up to the task, as well.
"We have in Dez our Odell Beckham here, as well," he said. "He makes plays like that, and that was a big play he made late in the ball game when we needed it."
