Stephen Jones: Dez Bryant deserves targets in double coverage

Published Sep. 30, 2013 9:49 p.m. ET

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IRVING, Texas -- Dez Bryant had three catches for 53 yards and two touchdowns in the first half Sunday in San Diego. Bryant had three catches for 28 yards in the second half of the 30-21 loss, and only one of those catches came in the final 12 minutes.

The Dallas Cowboys have preached that they'll take what defenses are giving them this season, so there haven't been many times they've thrown to Bryant in double coverage. The team's logic is that if two guys are on Bryant, there has to be another matchup that is more in their favor.

But during both losses this season, Bryant has been dominant early and rarely looked at when the game's on the line in the fourth quarter. Combining the final seven minutes of each loss, Bryant has been thrown to three times, resulting in two catches for 25 yards.

In those situations, shouldn't the Cowboys give one of the league's top playmakers a few opportunities to make a play even if a safety is helping over the top?

Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones seems to think so.

"I do think sometimes he's going to win the battle even if he's doubled," Jones said Monday on KRLD-FM. "He deserves those shots. I think another way to really make that a little different is have some other guys on the field make some plays, other than just Witten and Dez. I think Terrance Williams' career is headed in the right direction. Hopefully Miles is going to get back out there. You got Dwayne Harris and Cole Beasley, who I think played well yesterday. When they do those things, then they're obviously leaving some matchups that ought to work for us, and you ought to be making plays that way.

"But I do think at times – and I think you've seen it with Tony – you got to give Dez a chance, even if he's doubled, to go make a special play, which he's certainly capable of."

Follow Jon Machota on Twitter: @jonmachota