Emotions ran high on Sunday after Dez Bryant made an amazing 31-yard goal line catch with the Dallas Cowboys on fourth down then the referees overturned it after a challenge by Mike McCarthy. The reversal helped seal the Cowboys 26-21 loss to the Green Bay Packers. Following the game reporters gathered around Bryant’s locker to get his reaction and he was of course still emotional and in disbelief.
Bryant maintained that it was a catch and he never seen anything like this before. He rejected thoughts that it compared to Calvin Johnson’s catch a few years back.
Here’s a bit of the dialogue transcribed by NFL.com:
Was there a thought in your mind that it would be overturned?
“Not even a thought. … We had an opportunity to take the lead.”
Do you feel like the referees took it away from you?
“C’mon man. I think it was a catch. They took it away.”
Do you know what a football move is?
“All I know is I had possession on the ball coming down. That’s possession, right?”
Were you trying to stretch for the goal line?
“You seen my hand? I tried to stretch for it. C’mon now. I wasn’t off balance. I’m trying to stretch for (the touchdown). Trying to get in the end zone.”
Do you feel like the better team won today?
“No.”
How much will you think of that play in the offseason?
“I’ll let it go. The only thing that will bother me the most if I hear during the week that it was a catch. I think that will bother me more than anything.”
The irony of the situation is of course the fact that the Cowboys beat the Detroit Lions last week after a reversal of a pass interference call and this week they were on the other side.
