Josh Norman was involved in several physical altercations in the Thanksgiving football game last week and it didn’t involve the New York Giants receiver Odell Beckham, Jr.
Dallas Cowboys receiver, Dez Bryant, was the target for Josh Norman this time and it didn’t go well.
The most anticipated game on Thanksgiving Day didn’t disappoint, resulting in the Cowboys beating the Redskins 31-26 in a rivalry game for the ages.
However, no one anticipated the scuffle between Norman and Bryant that would happen during the game. The alteration and trash talking became increasingly heated to the point where the players had to be separated and warned by the refs to calm down.
But the players didn’t calm done anytime soon.
The exchange of physical altercations between the two players became the most brute, when Bryant made a 13-yard catch to set up a Prescott touchdown run. Norman grabbed Bryant’s leg after the play, stopping Bryant from standing on his feet, ending in a dispute between the teams.
The trash talking continued all the way to the end of the game and ended with Norman and Bryant going helmet-to-helmet. The players once again had to be separated by their teammates.
After the game, Norman and Bryant took their frustration off the field and carried it into the post-game interviews. Where both players expressed their feelings about each other.
Bryant stated his press conference with this statement:
"First off, Washington needs to get their money back from Josh Norman," Bryant told reporters, vIa USA Today's Lorenzo Reyes.
Dez Bryant’s statement was a response to Josh Norman’s statement last year when Norman stated:
The Cowboys “get Dez's $70 million back," referencing the five-year, $70 million deal Bryant signed in the summer of 2015.
In that game against the Panthers and the Cowboys, Dez Bryant was limited to only two catches for 26 yards in the Cowboys 33-14 loss.
In this year’s Thanksgiving Day game, Bryant obtained five catches for 72 yards, with two of the catches being caught while Norman was defending him.
Bryant continued his rant by saying:
"I didn't make it personal. I was just going to come out and do my job and that's exactly what I did. He wanted to bump and me and him got to bumping a little bit and it just made me attack him even more. I honestly feel like the guy is extremely soft. He's a bunch of talk.
But Norman couldn’t let Dez Bryant get all the attention. He also expressed his feelings about the receiver following the game.
"Don't step to someone when the game is over like that when they're not even looking for you, or even having a conversation with you," he said. "They won the game, so you have to tip your hats off to them. But I don't do trash, and that was trashy on his behalf."
The two continued to bash one another during the post-game and have become “enemies” in the NFL. The good news is the two teams will not meet again in the season.