Dez Bryant turns tables; criticizes himself

IRVING, Tex. -- Wide receiver Dez Bryant ripped the media last week for not supporting the Dallas Cowboys and being overly critical of his play in a locker-room incident that gained national attention.

On Sunday he ripped himself and took full responsibility for dropping a pass on a critical third down in the fourth quarter, or for not giving better effort on what became the Cowboys' final offensive play that turned into an interception in a 10-6 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Bryant shouldered some of the blame for the offensive ineptness against a Bucs defense that had given up the fourth-most points in the NFL going into the game.

The Cowboys were clinging to a 6-3 lead with 4:13 left in the game when they faced a third-and-1 from the Tampa 18. From a shotgun formation, quarterback Matt Cassel went Bryant's way with a short pass on the left side that Bryant could have caught for the first down.

But Bryant couldn't hold on to it, dropping a pass he admittedly should have made.

"No question. Regardless of anything, I am supposed to have had that," said Bryant, who finished with five catches for 45 yards. "I feel I adjusted well to it real quickly, but I didn't execute the way I needed to."

But Bryant had an opportunity to redeem himself at the end of the game. With 28 seconds left, he found himself in a one-on-one situation in the end zone with Bucs safety Bradley McDougald.

Cassel liked the matchup and went to Bryant, but McDougald came down with a game-sealing interception. Bryant didn't make much of an effort because he thought he'd drawn a pass interference call on McDougald.

There was no call and the Cowboys' chances ended.

"I thought I was going to get it (the pass interference call)," Bryant said. "It's unfortunate. Me as a player and the attitude I have, I was so caught up in that little quick moment, of I know the ref seen it and know he's going to call it ... but he didn't. I'm not trying to make excuses, but it just kinda threw me off my target. I wasn't focused on it. Just an unfortunate situation."

--Defensive end Greg Hardy continues to gain attention for the wrong reasons, yet the Cowboys remain in support of him.

Head coach Jason Garrett refused to address reports that Hardy missed most of the morning meetings last Thursday.

But he said the Cowboys remain behind Hardy and have no regrets about his presence on the team, despite a string of incidents since his controversial arrival in March because of his involvement in a domestic violence incident with his former girlfriend.

The latest incident came three days before Sunday's 10-6 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"I don't want to get into any specifics about a player and him being late or missing things," Garrett said. "Suffice it to say that we have standards here with the Cowboys that if a player were to miss something or be late for something we address it in house and we address it the right way."

The missed meetings certainly had no impact on Hardy's playing time against the Buccaneers. Hardy started at right defensive end Sunday. He played 60 of 71 snaps, making one tackle and recording no sacks.

Still, Hardy's list of distractions seems to be growing.

Hardy's late arrival Thursday came a day after he briefly changed his Twitter profile claiming his innocence in a domestic violence incident in May 2014. He was initially found guilty by a North Carolina judge but then asked for a jury trial. Charges were eventually dropped because his ex-girlfriend refused to cooperate with the district attorney.

Hardy, however, was suspended for the first four games of the season because of the incident and for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy. Garrett acknowledged last week he talked to Hardy about his Twitter bio. The Cowboys have had to address at least four off-field incidents with Hardy since they signed him last spring.

Hardy has not addressed the media in a couple of weeks.

But Garrett said all the scrutiny and attention were wearing on him.

"I don't think it's been easy for him," Garrett said. "But I think he is doing his best to handle it every day. He is a highly scrutinized guy. One of the things we are trying to do is create an environment for him where he can come be his best. Come to work every day and work hard and get himself ready to play in this ball game. And I think for the most part he has a done a pretty good job of that."

Garrett said there comes a point with any player that if bad behavior persists then you do what you have to do to remove him from the situation. He said the Cowboys have not reached that point with Hardy and the team still has no regrets about signing him.

"We brought Greg in," Garrett said. "We believe he can help our football team. We're trying to provide the right opportunity for him, the right structure for him, the right environment for him to play his best and to be his best. We'll continue to do that."

Notes: Linebacker Sean Lee passed the concussion tests that kept him out of the Tampa Bay game and should be ready for the Dolphins game. ... Cornerback Morris Claiborne suffered a strained hamstring against the Buccaneers. He missed the second half and is questionable for this week's game against the Dolphins. ... Kicker Dan Bailey missed a 48-yard field goal in the second quarter against the Buccaneers. It ended a streak of 21 straight successful field goals dating back to last season. He made three in the 2014 season finale at Washington (12/28) and his first 18 in 2015. It tied his 2012-13 total (21) for the fifth-longest streak in team history. Bailey's last miss came on a 53-yard attempt against the Indianapolis Colts on Dec. 21, 2014. He made his first 18 straight during 2015, including kicks of 52 and 53 yards on Sunday before the miss with the wind at his back.