A pair of receivers from bitter rivals have found a common bond — apart from the fact that they share a birthday.
Cowboys wideout Dez Bryant defended Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. on Saturday at the NFC’s Pro Bowl practice, and Bryant found a way to do it that also amounted to a shot at Beckham’s team.
“Whenever something doesn’t go right, as far as a team loss, y’all don’t like his actions, and all it is, is just him wanting to win the game,” Bryant said, via Jenna Laine of ESPN.com. “If more people were like that on his team, maybe they would do something special.”
Bryant added that Beckham’s periodic outbursts arising from on-field adversity reveal the “heart of a champion.”
“He’s a talent that a lot of people wouldn’t be able to understand,” Bryant said. “You want to criticize him. You want to talk about him because you just don’t understand him — his whole mindset, the way he goes about his game. He’s a hell of a football player. He’s a great football player.”
Both Bryant and Beckham are great football players. And both want to win badly. If every team had more guys like that, the sport would be even more special than it is.