Cannot catch a break
People haven’t let Cowboys, Bryant forget drop from 2014
About 15 minutes after Dez Bryant said he didn’t want to talk about “the catch that wasn’t,” the Cowboys receiver still was talking about the controversial play from the 2014 NFC divisional playoff loss to the Packers.
“Even if we were to win four or five Super Bowls, people still are going to be like, ‘He still caught it,’ ” Bryant told reporters Thursday. “But that was 2014. There’s no extra motivation. There’s no nothing.
“If there’s any motivation, it’s just to prepare better than the last time. I feel like I’ve done that.”
The Cowboys, trailing 26-21 with 4 minutes, 43 seconds left in that 2014 game, went for it on fourth-and-2. Quarterback Tony Romo lofted a pass down the left sideline to Bryant, who jumped over cornerback Sam Shields and grabbed the ball with two hands around the 2-yard line.
Bryant moved the ball to his left hand as he reached for the end zone, but it bounced up as he hit the ground. Initially ruled a catch that gave the Cowboys a first-and-goal at the 1, the play was reversed on replay, referee Gene Steratore ruling Bryant didn’t control the ball all the way through the catch.
“Yeah, of course, it was tough,” Bryant said. “It was heartbreaking. It ended our season.”
Bryant will enter the rematch with a pair of lethal rookie weapons by his side — running back Ezekiel Elliott, who rushed 322 times for an NFL-leading 1,631 yards and 15 touchdowns, and quarterback Dak Prescott, who completed 311 of 459 passes for 3,667 yards with 23 touchdowns and four interceptions.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers led the NFL in red-zone touchdown passes with 31 and has been particularly efficient during the Packers’ current seven-game win streak in which they have scored on 26 of their 27 red-zone chances, including 21 touchdowns.
The Packers scored touchdowns on all four of their drives that advanced inside the Giants’ 20-yard line in last week’s first-round playoff victory. The Giants had a field goal in two red-zone opportunities.
“We need to play that way (in the red zone) Sunday,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said, “and we need to hold them to field goals on defense.”
Jordy Nelson, who had an NFL-best 14 touchdown catches in the regular season, has been ruled out because of a rib injury, but the Packers seem better equipped to handle the loss of their top receiver than they did in 2015, when Nelson missed the entire season because of a knee injury.
He left last week’s game against the Giants with about 11 minutes left in the second quarter and the Packers trailing 3-0. They went on to win 38-13, with Rodgers throwing four touchdown passes for the third straight game.
The Cowboys should be able to run the ball, and the Packers not having Nelson is big. This figures to be a close game, but it’s risky to doubt Rodgers in these situations.