Watch Dez Bryant’s two major meltdowns during Cowboys’ loss to Lions

Dez Bryant is a passionate guy. He’s also very competitive.

Those seem to be the company lines after not one, but two sideline meltdowns by Dallas’ star receiver during the Cowboys’ 31-30 loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

The first tantrum came in the third quarter, right after the Cowboys had actually extended their lead to 13-7 on a Dan Bailey field goal. Bryant said later that it was all about his passion for winning.

“You have to have that passion,” said Bryant, who finished with three catches for 72 yards and two touchdowns. “If you’re just out there with a mediocre attitude, you’re going to get blown out.”

He added: “The passion is all about winning. It’s all about winning, I promise.”

That time Bryant took on quarterback Tony Romo, as well as Head Coach Jason Garrett and a handful of other coaches. After the game, those two seemed to let Bryant off the hook because of his passion and/or competitiveness.

“Dez is a very passionate player, very competitive player,” Dallas coach Jason Garrett said. “He gets a lot of attention from the opposing defenses, and he just wanted the football, and we want guys that want the football.”

Romo added: “He’s a competitive guy. He’s never complained to me about getting the ball. He knows that the ball is going to go where it’s supposed to. When you guys sometimes see emotions from Dez, it’s just trying to ‘rah rah’ more than it is being a ‘me’ guy.”

But not everyone with a star on his helmet was about to let Bryant get away with such behavior. Tight end Jason Witten appeared to take the receiver to task during another Bryant meltdown after the Lions’ eventual game-winning touchdown with 12 seconds remaining. Defensive end DeMarcus Ware seemed to get in on the action as well.

Apparently those two didn’t get the memo about Bryant’s passion and competitiveness.

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