Someone on Twitter called it the best bad game you could have. Apologies for not noting the author, but the concept stuck with me.
The box score makes Dallas Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant look darn good this morning. Eight receptions for 105 yards -- both season-highs. But mistakes significantly hurt the Cowboys' chances to win Monday night against the Chicago Bears -- even with Tony Romo doing his throw-it-to-the-other-team thing.
Rapoport: Cowboys at crossroads
Bryant did not understand a line-of-scrimmage audible called by Romo in the second quarter. Romo checked to a hitch with Bears showing blitz, while Bryant didn't adjust and instead ran a stutter-and-go. The quarterback threw the new route under duress, and Charles Tillman picked it off, going 25 yards the other way for the game's first touchdown.
"You just have to give credit to the defensive back," Bryant told The Dallas Morning News.
Bryant dropped a pass as he ran all alone down the right side in the fourth quarter. He could have scored on the play. Bryant had another blatant drop deep in the red zone on a third down.
"There's really no excuses," Bryant said after the 34-18 loss. "I take pride in catching the football."
Cowboys fans have been waiting for Bryant to put together a dominant effort in 2012. And he did - at times. But it's those miscues that are maddening.
It seems like nothing can be simple when Dez Bryant is involved.
Follow Kareem Copeland on Twitter @kareemcopeland.
