Josh Normancircled Thanksgiving on his calendar, eager to face Dez Bryant. The Carolina Panthers cornerback then went out and led the shutdown of the Dallas Cowboys star receiver.
The two went at it from the first pass of the game, when Norman swatted away a Tony Romo toss. The back-and-forth jawing began immediately and spilled over into the subsequent plays.
Led by Norman, the Panthers clamped down on Bryant, relegating the receiver to just two receptions and 26 yards on eight targets.
"Hey, they need to get Dez's 70 mil back," Norman quipped to reporters as he walked into the locker room, via the Dallas Morning News.
Bryant signed a five-year, $70 million deal in the offseason.
Norman was heated before, during and after the game. Following the Panthers' 33-14 stuffing of the Cowboys on Thanksgiving, the corner called out Panthers' haters and those who had the undefeated team entering as an underdog on the road.
Norman then went after Bryant, saying the receiver called him out to other Panthers defensive backs during pregame warmups.
"They came back, told me, I put my thinking cap on and I went to work," Norman said. "I went to a dark place. I went to the bat cave. I went Dark Knight on him. The thing is, the crazy thing about all that is, he started from the first play and after that, it was nothing. There's no pact between lions and men between the white lines. None. And if my intensity is all out four quarters and the other opponent is not, that's not my fault."
Bryant has now been shut down by two of the top corners in the NFL in Norman and the Seahawks' Richard Sherman. The Cowboys wideout has fewer than 50 yards receiving in five of six games this season.
Norman was clearly in Bryant's head early. When Panthers safety Kurt Coleman picked off Romo on the first drive of the game, Bryant and Norman stood behind the play yapping when it appeared the Cowboys receiver could have had a chance to stop a touchdown, if he made an effort.
"Me and him were having choice words," Norman said of the play, "then I pointed at Kurt as he scored and I said, 'Look at that, Now take that back to your huddle and come back again.'"
Come back again, Bryant did, but he didn't have much to show for his Thanksgiving. Norman made sure of that.
