There were times earlier in the season when Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo couldn't help but show his frustration with Dez Bryant.
An illegal procedure here. A route misunderstanding there. Romo knew Bryant was the most talented receiver he had, but he couldn't get their connection to click.
Well, until it did. Bryant and Romo have morphed into one of the game's elite tandems in the past five weeks, a stretch in which Bryant has 34 catches for 497 yards and seven touchdowns.
"Each and every week, it boosts my confidence just to know that Tony believes in me," Bryant said Friday, via NFL.com's Ian Rapoport. "I feel like I'm still working on it more, for Tony to trust me. I'm going to just keep doing what he wants me to do. I'm going to keep paying attention. I'm going to keep focused and see where it goes."
Bryant didn't look comfortable catching passes with his fractured left index finger last Sunday, but he still managed to extend his touchdown-scoring streak to six games. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones floated the possibility that Bryant eventually will need a bone graft from his hip to repair the finger. Bryant emphatically shot down that option.
"This finger -- it's just mental toughness, that's all," Bryant said. "If I felt like it was going to bring me down, I probably couldn't be out here doing what I'm doing. But I don't think about it as much. I don't feel the pain after. I just go out there and play football."
The emergence of Bryant -- along with a healthy DeMarco Murray -- are two major reasons why the Cowboys are a far more dangerous entity than they were a year ago. Bryant and Murray are difference makers in an NFC East that could be decided on one explosive play.
Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @DanHanzus.
