For fantasy football players, Calvin Johnson's day won't look all that much better than Dez Bryant's, as both receivers had two touchdowns on Sunday. However, it's fair to say Johnson's impact could entirely be felt on the stat sheet, while Bryant hardly showed up elsewhere at all.
Battling a thigh bruise since Week 1, Bryant needs to get healthy in the bye week. He had 71 yards receiving in the first quarter against the Jets, but didn't catch another pass in the season opener, then missed the next week. He did have a crucial grab late against Washington, but was severely limited for most of the night. Again Sunday, after an impressive start in which he built a 14-0 lead for the Cowboys in the game's first 20 minutes, Bryant disappeared.
Bryant did not register a catch after the 10:58 mark in the second quarter, and wasn't targeted often, as the Cowboys were forced to monitor his snaps.
"That stuff happens," Jason Garrett said. "Sometimes guys get the ball early. Sometimes they get it late. Sometimes they get it in the middle. You just keep banging away and trying to find some options and ways to move the football."
The Cowboys moved the ball even without much contribution from Bryant, piling up 434 yards of offense.
Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan said on Friday that Johnson wasn't as good as the Cowboys' top two receivers, Bryant and Miles Austin, but Austin was out Sunday and Bryant was bested by both Johnson and recent Cowboys pickup Laurent Robinson, who led the team with 117 receiving yards.
Bryant was the target on Tony Romo's first interception of the game, which Bobby Carpenter returned for a touchdown, flipping the momentum in Detroit's favor.
"I thought I threw it high enough to get over him, but he went up and got it," Romo said. "If the linebacker gtes that wide, I can't pull the trigger on it."
