Dez Bryant wanted to throw a touchdown pass for ‘a long, long, long time’ and finally did

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant has been lobbying head coach Jason Garrett and offensive coordinator Scott Linehan for “a long, long, long time” to let him throw a touchdown pass. Bryant didn’t know it was coming, but he got his wish against the Detroit Lions.

The Cowboys called, and executed, a flawless reverse against the Lions on Monday Night Football. Bryant took the handoff from Dak Prescott, and instead of keeping it and running the ball, Bryant tossed it to tight end Jason Witten for a 10-yard touchdown.

Bryant was surprised by the play call, which he thought had been scrapped after it failed in practice, according to Charean Williams of the Star-Telegram. Bryant said he was “really nervous.”

“We didn’t know he was going to call that play,” Bryant said. “So unexpected. We didn’t know. He called it, and I was like, ‘Oh, [expletive].’”

Jerry Jones didn’t seem surprised by Bryant’s successful touchdown pass.

“We’ve seen Dez be a move-around quarterback out here for the defense,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. “Dez can really throw the ball. That surprised me when I saw him coming around. I had to do a double-take first of all that it was him, 88, and second when he raised up, I thought, ‘This could happen.’ He can throw that ball.”

Bryant also caught two touchdown passes from Prescott, and he passed Hall of Famer Michael Irvin to take second place in Cowboys history for career touchdowns with 66. He just needs six more to surpass Bob Hayes, another Hall of Famer, who has 71.

The play call may have been unexpected, but Bryant executed it perfectly. Coupled with his two receiving touchdowns, Bryant was a significant factor in the Cowboys’ 42-21 win in Detroit.

We may not have seen the last of Dez throwing passes for the Cowboys.