FRISCO, Texas – It was an amusing visual, watching an All-Pro wide receiver try to explain the concept of swag to a crowd of reporters.
On one hand, it's hard to visualize the enthusiasm and self-confidence that has exuded from this Cowboys team over the past month. On the other hand, all one need do is watch Dez Bryant play football and it's pretty self-explanatory.
"The swag, man – the swag that we have," he said. "I can't say all the words that we use, but we just want it, man. We want to have fun with it. We want to just be us and feel free, ballin'."
Maybe there's a better official term for it, but it's fair – and more fun – to say the Cowboys are ballin' in the midst of this six-game win streak. They oozed swagger in comfortable wins against Cincinnati and Green Bay. And even amid a sloppy effort against Philadelphia, they found it within themselves to stage a 16-point rally, capped by an overtime walk off touchdown.
"Swag," is the word Bryant kept coming back to, but the fuller definition made plenty of sense.
"The love and passion that we have for one another – going out here, trying to execute these plays the best way that we possibly can," he said. "We've been doing a damn good job of it, and we're just trying to keep that together."
Last weekend was Bryant's first game back in the fold in a month, but he didn't look like he'd been missing too long. Despite the offense's struggles, he finished with four catches for 114 yards and a circus catch touchdown to tie the game late.
It took 57 minutes of action to get to that point, however, as the Cowboys stumbled through punts and a red zone turnover before piecing together a 90-yard drive in the final moments. But again, going back to that confidence, Bryant said the miscues weren't something that ever rattled his faith.
"Our mindset, the approach that we take each and every day, we don't dwell on one mistake – because we realize there's a lot more to focus on," he said. "We've been doing a good job of that, and it's just the mindset. We're chasing something."
Maybe that's why, after forcing an extra quarter, the Cowboys picked up right where they'd left off – driving downfield with ease. The prospect of a 4th-and-1 near the Philadelphia red zone didn't even stop them, as they converted it five plays before securing the win.
Cowboys coach Jason Garrett has downplayed that decision throughout the week, and Bryant didn't make too much of it himself. But those types of decisions, and those types of moments are quickly becoming the hallmark of a team that isn't short on self-belief.
"We've been in these situations, and we've played these situations out a million times in practice and it just feels normal," Bryant said. "It don't feel like it's a rush anywhere – it just feels normal. It feels like the first quarter or the first play of the game. It's like -- let's just dominate, let's just get it over, let's just win."
Call it swag, call it whatever you want, but it seems to be working.
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