As if Dallas Cowboys vs. New York Giants in the opening week's Sunday night game didn’t have enough juice, now it has more.
Dallas wide receiver Dez Bryant and Giants cornerback Janoris Jenkins threw gasoline on the fire Friday with some Twitter trash talk. Responding to a February story in which Jenkins explained how he limited Bryant to two catches for 18 yards and a fumble in two games last year -- both Cowboys losses -- the receiver said he will “embarrass him” this year.
The Giants and Cowboys meet in Week 1 at AT&T Stadium and in Week 13 in New Jersey.
Bryant tweeted: “Bra they play cover 5 damn near the whole time... put his ass 1 on 1 the whole game.. I will embarrass him.. spagnuolo know”
Cover 5 is a zone defense. Steve Spagnuolo is the Giants defensive coordinator.
Bryant later removed the tweet and tried to reverse course.
I jumped the gun on my last tweet.. I thought it was recent & thought he kept going on about it ..I'm still looking forward to our battle
— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) April 21, 2017
But that didn’t stop the never-shy Jenkins from responding.
When you speaks facts everybody get mad 😡, don't understand people.. 7 targets, 5 incomplete passes, 2 turnovers.. #Mr.Clampz
— JackRabbit2.0 (@JjenkzLockdown) April 21, 2017
It’s all just Twitter fingers and means nothing at this point. The Giants and Cowboys were already an intense divisional rivalry.
That doesn’t mean Bryant and Jenkins won’t have a little extra motivation in the season opener. Both Pro Bowl players will want to prove their point by showing they’re the better player on the field.
It should make for an interesting season. The NFC East is not short on rivalries, with Bryant and Odell Beckham Jr. having no love for Washington Redskins cornerback Josh Norman.
Jenkins now has his fair share of rivals as well. He has four games against Bryant and new Redskins wide receiver Terrelle Pryor. Jenkins also had a Twitter tiff with Pryor after they matched up last season, when Pryor was with the Cleveland Browns.
The Giants and Redskins play on Thanksgiving night and again in Week 17.
This should keep things interesting.