IRVING, Texas –The Cowboys have already lost one game this year due to a Dez Bryant finger.
They are now holding their breaths they won't lose the rest of the season due to a fractured left index finger.
The Cowboys' leading receiver, who has arguably been the team's best player in the last five games, saw a hand specialist in Dallas Monday afternoon. The Cowboys will likely wait a couple of days to see how the finger responds before deciding to have the surgery, which would likely end his season. There could be the option of heavily-taping up the finger and letting him play through it.
Bryant suffered the injury midway through the fourth quarter and missed a few snaps. He returned later in the drive and caught a 27-yard touchdown.
"Like with every injury we have, we're just going to wait for what the medical report is and then we'll make our determination," head coach Jason Garrett said on Monday. "Dez did a great job yesterday, though."
Bryant had four catches for 50 yards, but now has a touchdown reception in each of the last five games.
Despite published reports that Bryant has torn ligaments in his finger and will be placed on injured reserve after surgery, Garrett sounded more optimistic about his receiver's chances of playing at some point this season. But Garrett did reiterate it won't exactly be Bryant's decision to make.
"Well, it's a medical decision first and foremost," Garrett said. "The doctors are going to say, 'Hey, this is what it is, and this is what we feel like you need to do,' and then we're going to say, 'OK, well what are the other options,' like you do with any injury, and you go forward and you make your best decision, not only for now, but for the future. Dez is very passionate about playing. Anyone who's been around him knows that. He actually hurt his finger prior to catching that touchdown pass that was such a difference-making play in the game. He's just one of those guys. He loves to play. He's very emotional about the game, very passionate about the game, so we're going to do everything we can to give him a chance to play. At the same time, there's a medical decision as well that we have to factor into this thing, and we'll do the right thing."
Back on Oct. 28, the Cowboys nearly pulled off their greatest comeback in team history when they rallied from a 23-0 deficit and appeared to win the game on a Bryant touchdown in the back of the end zone. However replay officials reversed the call, stating Bryant's fingers came down out of bounds for an incomplete pass in what resulted in a 29-24 loss to the Giants at Cowboys Stadium.
But in the last five games, Bryant has been nearly unstoppable, scoring seven touchdowns, including a 27-yard scoring catch Sunday against the Bengals. He just went over the 1,000-yard mark this week for the first time in his career and leads the Cowboys with 1,028 yards on 75 catches and a team-high nine touchdowns, which have all occurred in the second half of games this year.
